
" "" ■ P 'v^e$ 






WORCESTER SECTS; 



A HISTORT 

OF THE 

ROMAN CATHOLICS & DISSENTERS 

OF 

WORCESTER. 



By JOHN NOAKE, 

Author of The Rambler \ &c. 



LONDON: LONGMAN AND CO. 

WORCESTER: J. NOAKE, HERALD OFFICE; 

AND ALL BOOKSELLERS. 

l86l. 

PRICE FIVE SHILLINGS. 






Jojiah Allen, jun., Printer, Lively Street, Birmingliam. 

lOOVO 



• • «• • 




DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, 
TO 

JOSEPH WOOD, ESQ., 

Mayor of JVorcefter, 

AND UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF HIS WORSHIP, 

AS ALSO OF 

THE RIGHT HON. EARL BEAUCHAMP, 

R. PADMORE, ESQ., M.P., 

A, C, SHERRIFF, T. R, HILL, AND E. B. EVANS, ESQS, 



"Men that are angry for God, paffionate for Chtift, that can 
call names for Religion and fling ftones for Faith, may tell us they 
are Christians if they will, but nobody would know them to be fuch 
by their fruits. To be fure, they are no Chriftians of Chriffs 
■making."— William Penn. 




Preface . 

'HE object for which this work was 
written is twofold : firft, to pre- 
ferve and put in permanent form 
the records and materials for the 
hiftory of each religious denomina- 
tion in Worcefter; and, fecondly, to inculcate 
humility and Chriftian forbearance, by producing 
undeniable evidence that religious perfecution 
was not confined to any one body of Chriftians, 
but was freely exercifed by whatever party 
attained to power. 

In carrying out this main defign — which has 
occupied twelve months of clofe refearch and 
conftant employment of the little leifure afforded 
by an arduous profeffion — many incidental refults 
of an interefting and ufeful kind have likewife 
been attained. More light has been thrown on 
the manners and cuftoms of our anceftors — 



vi Preface. 

their thoughts, their religious opinions, their 
domeftic and focial life. Details have been pre- 
ferved as to localities and now almoft forgotten 
names of ftreets, habitations, and places of wor- 
ship; befides lifts (as far as poffible) of the 
original members of each denomination in the 
city, many of whofe defcendants are ftill living, 
and brief biographies of departed minifters of the 
Gofpel whofe memories are had in reverence 
and efteem for their Chriftian worth and ufeful- 
nefs. A new verfion of fome of the circum- 
ftances attending the Gunpowder Plot, tranflated 
from Jefuitical and other fources, with accounts 
of miracles and executions — which I have no 
doubt will be read with great intereft — has been 
provided. The old houfe at Hindlip — one of 
the reforts of the confpirators — forms the fubjecl 
of the frontifpiece. That houfe was pulled 
down about forty years ago, to the great regret of 
all who valued antiquity and hiftorical affoci- 
ation; and the prefent manfion — a fquare brick 
building, its principal front having four Ionic 
pillars fupporting an entablature — was ere&ed. 

I have alfo thought it defirable to commence 
each chapter with a brief account of the origin 



Preface. vii 

of the feet to which it is devoted, and to intro- 
duce fo much of its general hiftory as would be 
neceflary to elucidate and explain the local mate- 
rials now brought together \ alfo to enliven the 
work with (ketches and anecdotes of founders of 
fects, popular preachers, and others intimately 
or incidentally connected with the city (feveral 
of whom are ftill living), with fpecimens of their 
pulpit productions. 

The great bulk of my material was new, and 
gathered from multifarious fources, as indeed the 
following pages will bear witnefs ; the labour, 
therefore, has been very great for fo fmall a refult; 
yet I truft it will not be deemed unacceptable 
to the public. 

Some of the records of which I have availed 
myfelf, there is reafon to believe, would have 
been loft altogether but for my timely inquiries 
after them ; now, however, by the aid and inter- 
pofition of the printing prefs, fuch an accident 
would be rendered lefs regrettable, and this work 
I hope will be confidered a truftworthy and per- 
manent record and book of reference for each 
denomination whofe hiftory is brought under 
review. 



viii Preface. 

Although I have not fcrupled freely to exprefs 
my opinions wherever I deemed it needful, this, 
I truft, will not be confidered to detract from the 
merit of the work, as not a fingle word has been 
penned in bitternefs of fpirit or with a view to 
create animolity. The judicious Hooker was 
worthy of all praife when he predicted that 
a there would come a time when three words 
uttered with charity and meeknefs mould receive 
a far more blefied reward than three thoufand 
volumes written w T ith difdainful (harpnefs of 
wit." 

It will be obferved that frequent mention is 
made of other towns and places in the county 
and diftrict ; but this is purely incidental, and to 
undertake the religious hiftory of each town in 
the county would have been too coloflal an 
undertaking for one whofe time is fo limited. 

A copious index has been prepared, under the 
conviction that many books lofe much of their 
value, as works of reference, from a lack of this 
very neceflary adjunct. 

On a digeft of the facts brought together in 
this little production, I think my readers will 
agree with me in the expreffion of thankfulnefs 



Preface. ix 

that our lot has not been caft in thofe days when 
magiftrates acted without law, juftice, or huma- 
nity ; when no religious and but little civil liberty 
exifted ; when fuperftition, ignorance, and a lack 
of many of the phyfical comforts we now enjoy, 
were the chief chara£teri flics of fociety in thefe 
iflands. 

Long prefaces being an abhorrence to me, it 
only now remains to exprefs my gratitude to the 
kind patrons whofe names appear on the dedica- 
tory page, and alfo to tender my acknowledg- 
ments to the following gentlemen, who kindly 
affifted my literary labours, and afforded me facil- 
ities for the examination of records, &c. : Revs. 
W. Waterworth ) T. Dodd, and J. M'Owan ; 
Aldermen T. R. Hill and Lewis; MeiTrs. Grove ^ 
Stanley Pumphrey^ T. Baxter^ Ward^ and Vella- 
cott\ as alfo to the librarians and authorities of 
the Britifh Mufeum Library, and that of the 
Society of Antiquaries, Somerfet Houfe, in both 
of which noble inftitutions I met with the utmoft 
courtefy and kindnefs. 

Britannia Square, Worcefter, 
December, i860, 



In dex . 



Abberley, 269. 
Adams, 118. 

Agreement, Baxter's, 92. 
Alcester, 148, 161, 163, 167, 

285, 320. 
Allen, Cardinal, 79. 
Allen, Rev. J., 120. 
All Saints, 98, 106. 
Allies, 355, 359. 
Alvechurch, 215. 
Anderson, Father, 45, 47. 
Andrew's, St., 99, 106, 110, 

117,118,308,325, 327, 

359. 
Areley Kings, 269. 
Association Methodists, 340, 

341. 
Ashley, 26, 28, 37, 245. 
Atkins, 55, 60, 110, 209. 

Badlev, Thomas, burning of, 
1,2.- 

Barlow, Dean, 5. 

Battenhall, 6, 17. 

Bay ley, 60. 

Bartholomew, St., 63. 

Baptists, 36, 49, 52, 85, 89, 
98, 109, 125, 145, 194, 
198,201,216, 229, 336, 
347. 



Baxter, 69, 92, 93, 102, 106, 
et seq., 150, 154, 211, 
212, 215. 

Bartlett, Felix, 69, 70. 

Bateman, 78. 
Baker, 92, 99, 110. 
Badland, Mr. T., 101, 102, 

110,111, 113, 115, 116. 
Barker, Rev. T.R., 138. 
Bartlett, Rev. J., 144. 
Barebone, 150. 
Battle of Worcester, 89,203. 
Bath, 349. 
Bayfield, 364. 
Backhouse, 288. 
Baynham, Rev. J., 74. 
Berry, Major-Gen., 50, 209. 
Beswick, Father, 52. 
Bedloe, 57. 

Beeston, Father, 67, 69, 78. 
Benedictines, 68. 
Berkeley, 70, 71, 74. 
Bewdley, 93, 109, 118, 154, 

160, 161, 162, 171, 294, 

317, 318, 324, 325, 328. 
Berry, James, 106. 
Bennett, 111, 144, 191, 198, 

202, 204. 
Belsham, 121, et seq. 
Bentley, Horace, 136. p. 



xu 



Index. 



Bethania's Walks, 159, 165, 

168. 
Belsher, 162. 171, 172, 173. 

179. 
Bearcroft, Mr. P., 166. 
Bedfordshire, 201. 
Besse's Sufferings, 208, 220, 

234, 236. 
Beoley, 74. 
Belbroughton, 230. 
Bell, 303, 313. 
Beesley, 278, 288. 
Berridge, 354. 
Bevington, 283, 288, 293. 
Billinge, 72. 
Bird, 78. 
Birmingham, 121, 138, 171, 

172, 310,327. 
Bishop Stortford, 140. 
Biddulph, 347. 
Bible Christians, 341. 
Black Friars (Dominicans), 9. 
Blount, Father, 41, 45. 
Blackmoor Park, 68, 7 -A. 
Blockley, 93. 

B hint's History of the Re- 
formation, 82. 
Blackw ell's History of the 

Independents, 105, 115, 

121, 123. 
Blackmore, 111, 116, 117, 

118. 
Bourne, 6, 14, 16, 17, 212, 

223, 226, 231, 235, 236, 

250, 252, 256, et seq. 
Bonner, 17. 
Boraston, John, 93. 
Bosworth, Rev. F., 145. 
Bourton, 148. 



Boscobel, 63. 
B own as, 273. 
Bolingbroke, 343. 
Broad, R., 119 
Bromley, 27, 29, 33, 270. 
Bromsgrove, 36, 60, 109, 

159, 160, 161, 213, 258, 

281, 294, 319. 
Brownbill, 78. 
Brown, 85, 86, 152, 357. 
Brady, Thomas, 60. 
Bristow, 78. 
Bridgnorth, 106, 169. 
Bristol, 129, 153, 154, 174, 

181, 182, 191, 192, 193, 

288, 308, 310, 324, 358. 
Brettell Lane, 171. 
Broadway, 228. 
Brayton, 283. 
Bradley, 363. 
Burford, 40. 
Butler, 60. 
Burney, 73. 
Burden, Mr. S., 115. 
Butler, Mr. J., 116. 
Burgess, 292, 293. 
Burlingharo, 288. 
Byron, 338. 

Catholics, 1, 89, 135. 
Callowhill, Richard, 10. 
Catesby, 26. 
Calvin, 31, 86. 
Campbell, Father, 53. 
Case, William, 69. 
Carroll, Archbishop, 71, 73. 
Carr, 78. 
Campion, 78. 
Cathedral, 89, 92, 95. 



Index. 



xui 



Calamy, 98, 100, 162, 164, 

192. 
Carpenter, Rev. J., 120. 
Cartwright, 204. 
Carlisle, 214. 
Cambridge, 301. 
Capper, 287. 

Calvinistic Methodists, 34 1 . 
Challoner, Bishop, 22, 35, 39. 
Chambers, 26, 159. 
Chetle, 32, 113, 114. 
Chaddesley, 61, 74. 
Chepstow Grange, 63. 
Chesterfield, 343. 
Chichester, 348. 
Cheltenham, 365. 
Churchman, 281. 
Cheshire, 284. 
Church Lench, 93. 
China manufactory, 102,115. 
Chadwick, 78. 
City Library, 123, 124. 
Claines, 164, 193. 
Clarke, 328, 335, 338. 
CHfton-on-Teme, 217, 231. 
Clement, 109. 

Clough, Richard, 69, 70, 71. 
Corbyn, 278, 287. 
Cole, 325. 
Collins, 326. 
Cowell, 334. 
Countess of Huntingdon's, 

342. 
Cox, 270. 
Coppe, 147. 
Cornwall, 152, 310. 
Conventicle Act, 157. 
Cooke, Rev. J., 137. 
Colly er, Giles, 93. 



Colles, Mr. Timothy, 118. 

Commandery, 10. 

Coughton, 22. 

College, St. George's, 45. 

Constable, Father, 61. 

Collier, 63. 

Corporation, 6o 9 104, 118, 

322. 
Cornthwaite, Rev. R., 74. 
Cooper, 78. 

Congregationalists, 81. 
Coventry, 89, 95, 108, 147. 
Crosby, 146, 153, 159. 
Crowe, Rev. W., 176, 177, 

178. 
Crowder, 241,254. 
Crump, Jane, 313. 
Crowle, 4, 5, 340. 
Crosses, destruction of, 2. 
Cromwell, 50, 87, 91, 92, 93, 

108, 109, 110, 149, 199, 

205, 206, 209. 
Cross, Father, 7 1 . 

Davis.John, persecution of, 5, 

Davies, 60, 177, 321, 355. 

Dadmond, 63. 

Day, 63, 335. 

Danse, 106. 

Daventry, 125. 

Dawson, 171. 

D'Assigny, 155. 

Darke, Samuel, 177, 288, 

et seq. 
Deans and Chapters, 15, 92. 
Declaration of County against 

Sects, 89. 
Declaration of Independents, 

111. 



XIV 



Index, 



Desborough, 63. 

Dent and Co.'s glove manu- 
factory, 115. 

Derby, 148,202,205. 

Dialogues of the Dead, 337. 

Diggers, 150, 

Doncaster, 307. 

Doyle, Sir Francis, 92. 

Doddridge, Dr., 86. 

Dodd, 73, 143, 362. 

Droitwich, 16, 204,232,233, 
294, 319, 340. 

Drury, Captain, 204. 

Duckett, Jesuit, 42. 

Dudley and Ward, Lord, 68. 

Dudley, 77, 106, 108, 171, 
232, 236, 281, 284, 294, 
310,324. 

Durey, Mr. John, 93. 

Eccles, 159, 161. 

Edwards, 166. 

Edniundson, 275, 328. 

Ejectment of clergy in 1662, 
98. 

English, 348, 352. 

Evans, 115, 335. 

Evesham, 93, 118, 171, 192, 
206 etseq.,214, 227, 281, 
283,294, 309, 310, 317, 
318, 319, 324,325, 356. 

Executions, 2, 3, 24, 31, 37, 
38, 39, 40, 41, 58, 60, 
146. 

Excommunications, 62. 

Fawcett, 121, 
Familists, 52. 
Ferrers, 342. 



Fen stanton, 155. 
Fecknam, Mr. T., 156, 162, 

163,232, 234. 
Five Mile Act, 157. 
Fifth Monarchy Men, 220. 
Fidoe, 254. 
Fincher, 98, 109, 110, 114, 

119,236,257, 258. 
Firkins, 122. 
Flanaghan, Canon, 22. 
Floyd, John, 43. 
Fleming, Rev. D., 129. 
Fleetwood, Bishop, 257. 
Forrest, Dr., burning of, 3. 
Foley, 106, 109, 262, 270. 
Foster, 135, 180, \86,etseq. 
Follows, 283. 
Fox, 147, 191, et seg., 213, 

216,217,231,238,^^., 

263. 
Franciscans, or Grey Friars, 

9, 67. 
Friars of the Sack, 10. 
Friars of the Holy Trinity, 

10. 
French, 352. 
Fry, 287, 288. 
Freebery, 317. 

Garnett, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 

31, 38,40,41. 
Gabriel, John, 62. 
Gas, introduction of, 173, 
Garner, Samuel, 208. 
Gamidge, 363. 
Gerard, 25, 42. 
George, St., Residence, 67. 
Gibbon, 63, 344. 
Gittings, Joseph, 75, 



Index. 



xv 



Gildas Salvianus, 109. 
Gloucestershire, 60, 107/278, 

297,310, 311, 316, 317, 

319,320, 327. 
Glasbrook, 316, 351, 352. 
Glascott, 349, 352. 
Glasgow, 129, 135, 136. 
Goodman, 63. 
Gordon, Lord George, 72. 
Gosport, 176. 
Gough, 278. 
Grimley, 5. 
Grimstead, West, 63. 
Grafton Mission, 79. 
Greenfield, Rev. T., 143. 
Griffiths, 283. 
Grafton Manor, 74. 
Green, 352. 

Gunpowder Plot, 26, 42. 
Gunter, 63. 

Gurumer, Rev. J., 124. 
Gurney, 287. 

Hawford, Dean, 5. 
Habingdon, 24, et seq. 
Hagley, 26, 40, 309. 
Hall, 27, 63, 135, 143, 160, 

174, 180, et seq. 
Hassells, 44. 
Harley, Sir E., 66. 
Harvington, 73, 74. 
Hawkins, Mr. J., 73. 
Hanley Castle, 68. 
Harrison, John, 79. 
Hancock, 88. 
Hartlebury, 93, 269. 
Hand, 111", 116. 
Hathaway, Elisha, 166, 167, 

169, *170, 172, 179. 



Haines, 238, 262. 
Halesowen, 309. 
Hampton, 318. 
Hardwick, 339. 
Hayes, 352. 
Havergal, 355. 
Harris, 363. 
Haigh, 365. 
Heath, Bishop, 12. 
Herefordshire, 24, 52, 53, 

66, 124, 154, 161, 168, 

178,233. 
Hewlings, 362. 
Helen's, St., 262. 
Hindlip, 24, 26, 27, 29, 33, 

38, 63. 
Highmeadow, 63. 
Higgins, Abigail, 117. 
Hill, Alderman T. R., 143. 
Hide, Judge, 222. 
Himbleton, 255. 
Hill, Rowland, 301, 348, 349, 

352, 357, et seq. 
Holbeeh, Henry, last Prior, 5. 
Holt, 14, 17. 
Holbeach, 26. 
Hornyold, Dr., 68, 74. 
Holden, 78. 
Hopkins, G., 93. 
Holdsworth, Dean, 96. 
Horril, 97. 

Hooper, Bishop, 106. 
Hodges, Mr. T. ? 120. 
Hoxton, 134. 
Hook, Dean, 136. 
Hook Norton, 148, 161, 
Holder's MS., 167, 168, 169. 
Honeybourne, 317, 319, 
Howarth, 284. 



XVI 



Index, 



Hooker, 341. 
Humberton, Henry, 63. 
Hume, 86. 
Hurndall, Rev. Dr., 140, 

143, 144. 
Humphrys, Mr. R., 164. 
Huntingdon, Countess of, 

297. 
Hughes, 335. 
Hurd, Bishop, 351, 356. 
Huddington, 26. 

Images, destruction of, 2, 7, 

20, 66. 
Independents, 49, 81, 157, 

162, 172, 194, 214, 229, 

347. 
Inghamites, 341. 

Jarrett, 78. 

Jacob, Henry, 85. 

Jackson, Eleazar, 88 

Jay, Rev. W., 135. 

James, Rev. J. A., 135. 

Jesuits, 21, 63. 

Jenks, Roland, 23. 

Jeffries, Judge, 93. 

Jones, 29, 30, 345, 347, 352. 

Jordan, Patrick, 60. 

Johnson, 104, 119, 288. 

John's, St., 340. 

Juvency, 24, 26. 

Juice, or Jewkes, 92, 100, 
109. 

Judgment of Associated Mi- 
nisters, 93. 

Kemble, Father, 53. 
Kensington, 129. 



Kerr and Binns, 313. 

Kempsey, 340. 

King's evil, 63. 

Kirk, Scottish, 85. 

Kidderminster, 93, 106, 107, 
108, 110, 117, 121, 143, 
211,212,215,294, 310, 
318, 326, 334, 356. 

King's Norton, 212. 

Kingswood, 301. 

Kingston, 335. 

King, 335. 

Knott, Ed., 47. 

Knox, John, 85. 

Knapp, Susan, 314, 330, 339. 

Knight, 226, 253. 

Lady Huntingdon's, 342. 
Lake, 339, 357, 362, 364. 
Latimer, at Dr. Forrest's 

burning, 105. 
Lavender, 60. 
Laurenson, 78. 
Lane, James, 79. 
Laslett, 143. 
Lavmgton, 309. 
Launceston, 202. 
Leigh, 20, 340. 
Levison, Father, 57. 
League and covenant, 88. 
Lechmere, 116. 
Ledbury, 118, 121, 154. 
Lewis, 122, 335, 365. 
Leifchild, 137, 174. 
Levellers, 150. 
Leominster, 154, 159, 161, 

166, 171. 
Leg-of-mutton Baptists, 155. 
Leicester, 168, 182, 200. 



Indt 



ex. 



xvn 



Lee, 335. 

Lichfield, 196. 

Liturgy of Church, 346. 

Lister, Thomas, 25. 

Llandaff, Bishop of, 20. 

Lloyd, Bishop, 267. 

Lovelace, Lord, 48. 

Lomax, 78. 

Lower, 238, et seq. 

Longevity among the Qua- 
kers, 296. 

Lowe, 288. 

Lyttelton, 26, 27, 29, 30, 40, 
47, 337, 343. 

Lynes, 286. 

Maunders, 63. 

Macaulay, 65. 

Malvern, 69, 74, 294, 309, 
324. 

Mace, John, 79. 

Martin's, St., 102, 115. 

Martin, 115,143,144,208. 

Mail coach, first in Worces- 
ter, 248. 

Martley, 266. 

Marlborough, 343. 

Madan, 347. 

Manchester, 363. 

Marriages, Quaker, 251. 

M'Clune, 78. 

Merror, 352. 

Meagher, 78. 

Methodism, 297. 

Militia Service and the 
Quakers, 289. 

Midland Association (Bap- 
tist), 157, 161, 163, 168, 
170. 



Mirabilis Annus, 96. 
Michael's, St., 11,12. 
Miracles, 32, 34, 35, 36, 38, 

39, 40, 41, 59 9 97, 200. 
Mitton, Edward, 32. 
More, Prior, 4. 
Moore's Anglican Mission, 

36, 43, 45. 
Monmouth, 63, 324. 
Moseley, 72. 
Morris, John, 75. 
Morgan, Rev., 76. 
Morton, W., 79. 
Moore, Mr. Simon, 92, 97, 

98, 107, 109, 110. 
Mosheim, 145, 180. 
Moreton, 148, 161. 
Mormonism, 178. 
More, Hannah, 301. 
M<Owan,339. 

Nanfan, Mr. J., 110. 
Nailor, James, 192, T93. 
Nash, 63, 88, 102, 343. 
Neal, 280. 
New Connexion Methodists, 

341. 
Newell, 352. 
Newman, 77, 115, 288. 
Nind, 317. 
Nicholas, St., 61, 98, 100, 

110, 126, 128,257, 260, 

262, 270. 
Norwich, 79, 355. 
Norton, 9, 340. 
North, Robert, 42. 

Oates, 52, 62, 147. 
Oldcorn, 25, et seq. 



XV111 



Index. 



Oldbury, 111,283, 

Oliver, 25, 38, 40, 63, 69, 70, 

75. 
Omer's, St., 43, 47, 67. 
Ombersley, 164, 236, 319. 
Orton, Job, 86, 124. 
Oswald's, St., 10, 53, 58, 59, 

70, 75, 79. 
Oscot College, 76. 
Osborn, Rev. G., 124, 125, 

126, 129. 
Oswen, John, 146. 
Owen, 23, 35, 37, 41, 303. 
Owen, Dr. John, 86. 
Oxford, 23, 52, 66, 69, 78, 

96, 147, 154, 297, 300, 

301. 

Pate, Bishop, 20. 
Pakington, 54, 61, 236,237, 

270. 
Parker, 74, 238, et seq. 
Padmore, Alderman, 140, 

365. 
Palmer's Nonconformists' 

Memorial,. 152. 
Pardoe, 158, 164, 165, 168, 

233, 234, 235, 252, 259, 

261, et seq., 273, 275, 

276, 277. 
Page, Henry, 173. 
Payton, 236, 237, 254, 280, 

" 281,284. 
Peter's, St., 14, 294. 
Persons, Father, 21, 43. 
Percy, 26. 
Perks, 40. 

Peters, Hugh, 88, 89. 
Penn, Wm., 191, 192, 193. 



Pershore, 107, 169, 171, 174, 
189,231,283, 294, 318, 
320. 

Pittaway, 207. 

Plymouth, 153, 161. 

Plymouth Brethren, 177. 

Popham, Attorney- General, 
43. 

Potter, Dean, 47, 96. 

Powick, 88, 107. 

Postlewhite, 78. 

Poynting, 170. 

Powell, 149. 

Prattenton, Dr., 49. 

Price, 49, 327, 365. 

Protestant Association, 50. 

Presbyterians, 84, 91, 92, 
96, 101, 111, 116, 122, 
123, 157,214,240, 336. 

Priddey, Roland and John, 
10*4, 119. 

Prisons in Worcester, 219. 

Primitive Methodists, 340. 

Protestant Methodists, 341. 

Priory of Worcester sur- 
rendered, 4. 

Prestwood, 26. 

Purshall Hall, 74. 

Pusey, 77. 

Pump Street Independents, 
122. 

Pumphrey, 288. 

Pye, Parson, 63. 

Quakers, 36, 52, 98, 101, 
150, 156, 158, 191, 327, 
336, 347. 

Rainsborough, Colonel, 1 08. 



Index. 



xix 



Ranters, 150, 340. 
Randolph, 58. 
Red Hill, 39, 58,59. 
Relics of Priory furniture, 8. 
Residence, Catholic, 45. 
Records, 60, 111, 162, 208, 

231,238,249, 316, 321. 
Registers, 62, 70, 115, 171. 
Redmarley, 68. 
Restoration of Charles II, 

51, 96, 156, 217. 
Reading, 100. 
Reynolds, 111. 
Bedford, Rev. Dr., 11 5, 134, 

et seq., 177. 
Redditch, 294, 310. 
Reforming Methodists, 340, 

341. 
Rhyd,The, 116. 
Riding House, 312. 
Rigby, 78. 

Robinson, Rev. A., 74, 76. 
Rouselench, 20. 
Rogers, 55. 
Romish hierarchy restored, 

78. 
Robinson, 85. 
Ross, 154. 
Rodda, 316. 
Routh, 284. 
Romaine, 345. 
Roberts, 363. 
Russell, Father, 67. 
Rugeley, 287. 

Salisbury, 154, 246. 
Sandys, 17, 20, 164, 236, 

237. 
Sarjeant, Rev. R., 10. 



Sanders, Father, 52. 
Saracen's Head inn, 60. 
Sanders, 71, 176. 
Sandwich, 164. 
Sanderson, 364. 
Sedgley Park, 68. 
Sewell, X., 76. 
Seekers, 151. 
SewelFs History of Quakers, 

222, 286. 
Sellon, 352. 
Sheldon, 17. 
Shelley, Mrs., 44. 
Shelsley, 269. 
Shewring, Mayor, 64. 
Shropshire, 69, 108, 171, 

232, 284, 294, 318, 325. 
Shipston, 254, 294. 
Shillitoe, 286. 
Shirley, 349, 850. 
Shelsley, preaching hour 

glass, 49. 
Shrines, 7. 
Silisdon, Father, 47. 
Siege of Worcester, 89. 
Skinner, 322, 348. 
Slater, Mr. S., 98. 
Smith, Sidney, 75. 
Smith, Dr. Pye, 135. 
Smith, Humphrey, 207. 
Smith, Robert, * 220, 222, 

223, 224, 236, 237,254. 
Smithen's Green, 340. 
Socinians, 121. 
Somerset, ]90, 204. 

Soley, Mayor, 256. 
Sortes YirgilianEe, 307. 
Spilsbury, 109, 117, 118, 
121. 



XX 



Index, 



Spetchley, 74. 

Squib in 1646, 90. 

Stoney hurst, 40. 

Stowell's History of Puri- 
tans^ 97. 

Stokes, 116,^ seq. 

Sturmer, 178. 

Street, 244, 245. 

Stage coach, first in Wor- 
cester, 248. 

Stourbridge, 254, 284, 294. 

Stourport, 318, 329, 334, 
335. 

Story, 275. 

Stanton, 280. 

Stephenson, 288. 

Stillingfleet, 66 9 152, 300, 
343. 

Stevens, 338. 

Steel, 365. 
. Stanford, 48. 

Staffordshire, 79, 127, 171. 

Sugar, John, 24. 

Sunday school, first in Wor- 
cester, 126. 

Swithin's, St., 10, 359. 

Swale, 78. 

Swift, 159, 270. 

Symonds, Mr. G., 156, 220. 

Sympson, William, 192, 214, 
241, 245. 

Taylor, 353. 

Talbot, Hon. James, 67. 

Terril, Judge, 222. 

Tewkesbury, 148, 161, 176, 
171,208,217,275,281, 
283,286,312,317, 323, 
324. 



Teakes, 149. 

Test and Corporation Acts, 

68, 157. 
Thurlow, 289. 
Thorpe, Rev., 129. 
Thornburgh, Mr. Giles, 95. 
Thomas, Bishop, 64. 
Thornborough, Bishop, 45. 
Tibberton, 348. 
Townsend, 47, 52, 89, 90, 96, 

156, 220. 
Tomkins, 110. 
Tom's Coffee House, 121. 
Tombes, 147,152, 153, 154, 

159, 198, 233, 236. 
Toleration Act, 161, 345. 
Trinity Guild, 9. 
Tristram, Rev. J., 76. 
Trebell, Jos., 93. 
Tredington, 238, 244, 254, 

285. 
Turner, 243. 

Trevecca College, 348, 351. 
Trowbridge, 364. 
Twittey, 245, 248. 
Tyringham, Prebendary, 96. 

Underhill, 16, 17, 155. 
Uniformity, Act of, 97, 100, 

228. 
Upton, 161, 171,311, 320. 
Urwick, Rev. T., 120, 121. 
Uxbridge, 135. 

Vaughan, 73, 129, 130, 138. 
Yenner's Insurrection, 220. 
Vernon, 266. 
Venn, 3.49. 



Index, 



xxi 



Wall, Father, alias Webb, 

53. 
Walpole, 67. 
Walmesley, William, 70. 
Walsh, 76, 269, 270. 
Ward, 77, 262. 
Wandsworth, 85. 
Watts, Dr. Isaac, 86. 
Warmstry, Dean, 95. 
Warren, 111. 
Warwickshire, 24, 120, 147, 

148, 161, 294, 319. 
Waters, Thomas, 174, 175. 
Waite, Rev. J. J., 178. 
Wardley, 364. 

Waterworth, Father, 67, 78. 
Walker, 228. 
Wesley, 71, 297, et seg. 9 343, 

352. 
Weedall, 76. 
Weetman, Clement, 79. 
Wesleyans, 122, 297. 
West Bromwich, 124, 125. 
Westminster, 143. 
Westmancote, 153. 
Westcombe, 292. 
W T harton, 71, 72. 
White Ladies, 9, 1 0. 
White Lady Aston, 152. 
Whalley, Colonel, io8. 
Whitefield, 125, 297, 300, et 

seq., 343, et seq., 352. 
Whitehead, George, 216. 
Whetstone, Roger, 36. 
Wilson, Dean, 15. 
Winter, 16, 17, 26,30,40. 
Winifred, St,, 35. 



Williams, 74, 75, 157, 176. 
Wilson's Pilgrim Fathers, 83 
Willenhall, 101, 110. 
Withers, Sir C. T., 117. 
Windsor, 134,239. 
Wigley, 144, 290. 
Willoughby, carpenter, 172. 
W T inchcomb, 187. 
Wichenford, 254. 
Winnington, 270. 
Wilberforce, 301. 
Wilks, 352. 
Winkworth, 352. 
Wills, 353. 
W r itley Court, 365. 
Wolverhampton, 52, 68, 310. 
Wootton-under-Edge, 122. 
Working Man's Institute, 

124. 
Wombourn, 72. 
Wormington, 327. 
Woods, 364. 
Wood, Mayor, 365. 
Wright, Thomas, 93. 
Wylde's Lane, 10. 
Writtle Park, 63. 
Wyld, 121, 218, 227, 230, 

231,232, 246. 
Wyatt's Hospital, 256., 

Yate, Dame Mary, 62. 

Yardley, 104,21. 

Young, Mayor of Evesham, 

211. 
Yorkshire, 25, 200, 201, 

204, 328. 
Young, Francis, 78. 



WORCESTER SECTS. 



The Catholics. 



" The true fpirit is to fearch after God and for another life with 
lowlinefs of heart j to fling down no man's altar, to puniih no man's 
prayer 5 to heap no penalties and no pains on thofe folemn fupplica- 
tions which, in divers tongues, and in varied forms, and in temples 
of a thoufand fhapes, but with one deep fenfe of human dependence, 
men pour forth to God." — Sydney Smith. 




N few Engli/h cities were more 
important changes effecTied by the 
great religious Reformation than 
in TVorcefter. The principles of 
Wickliffe had taken root here long 
before Henry VIII had acquired for himfelf the 
title of " Defender of the Faith," and the public 
mind had been gradually prepared for that reli- 
gious movement which was cradled in Germany 
but attained its fulleft development in this ifland. 
As early as the year 1409, Thomas Badley, a 
tailor of TVorcefter^ was arraigned before the 



2 Wore eft er Seels, 

Bifhop and convi&ed of herefy becaufe he denied 
that any prieft could make the body of Chrift 
facramentally. He faid "it was ridiculous to 
imagine that Chrift at His laft fupper held His 
own body in His hand and brake and divided it ; 
and if every confecrated hoft was Chrift 9 s body, 
then there muft be in England no lefs than 
20,000 gods." After this he was examined 
before the Archbifhop of Canterbury^ and great 
pains were taken to make him recant, but without 
effect, and the Archbifhop confirmed the fen- 
tence of his Right Rev. brother of TVorcefter ; 
whereupon Badley was burnt at Smithfield. The 
Prince of TVales was prefent on the occafion, 
and having compaflion on the man, he caufed 
the fire to be extinguimed, and offered Badley a 
penfion if he would recant, but the poor man 
continued firm in his faith, and fo was burnt. 

In 1522 the high crofs before TVorcefter 
Guildhall was defaced, though the local records 
do not ftate whether this was a dernonftrative 
aft of the TVorcefter population, or done by 
order of the civic rulers. It was fixteen years 
later that the images of TValfngham^ with thofe 
of Ipfwich) TVorcefter ', TV elf don ^ and other places, 
were taken to London and burnt at Chelfea \ 
and fome thirty or forty years afterwards that 
" the high crofs over againft the TVorcefter 
toll-fhop' J and others at the Cathedral and the 



Catholics, 3 

" Grafs- crofs" were ordered to be taken down. 
In 1535, Henry declared war againft the pre- 
tenfions of the Pope, and ordered the Earl of 
EJfex to inftitute meafures for apprehending all 
priefts and curates who " fet forth and extolled 
the jurisdiction and authority of the Bifhop of 
Rome, otherwife called Pope." No one can 
now reafonably fuppofe that Henry had changed 
his religious principles — if he ever poffefled 
any — only on one radical point he differed from 
the Catholic body, viz., in preferring himfelf to 
exercife the office of Pope, that his brutal and 
filthy paffions might be indulged without check 
or reftraint. Among the early victims of that 
reign, a friar named Dr. Forreft was condemned 
for denying the royal fupremacy; a large wooden 
ftatue of the virgin was brought from Wales to 
make the death-fire, and Latimer, Bifhop of 
Worcefter, prefided at the execution. While 
preaching to the poor friar, as he hung fufpended 
in the flames, the Bifhop exceeded his ufual 
eloquence, and afked the half-confumed victim 
what ftate he would die in 5 but the friar, in a 
bold voice, anfwered, " that if an angel mould 
come down from heaven and teach him any 
other doctrine than he had received and believed 
from his youth, he would not now believe him;" 
and fo he was hanged and burnt. Perhaps this 
incident (given on the authority of Stowe's 



4 Wore eft er Seels. 

Annales), of a Proteftant Bifhop of Worcefter 
prefiding at the execution of a friar, will be new 
to many of my readers ; but one object of this 
work is to prove that religious perfecution was 
not confined to Catholics or any other feet of 
Christians ; it was the weapon ufed by all who 
attained to a predominance in the ftate ; it was 
the fpirit of the age and not of a party : Bifhop 
Jewell himfelf, one of the bright lights of the 
Reformation, approved the theory of burning 
heretics, as alfo to a certain extent did ^Jeremy 
Taylor, who was a great champion of religious 
liberty. 

In the vifitation of the monafteries Latimer 
was extremely active, and in the year 1539 tne 
Benedictines of Worcefter Priory put on fecular 
habits and furrendered, after their order had been 
in poffeffion of the church of Worcefter for 570 
years. All our cathedral priories, except Carlifle, 
and moft of the richeft abbeys in England, were 
held by Benedictines. William More, the then 
Prior of Worcefter, had forefeen the coming 
ftorm, and fagacioufly made terms with the 
mammon of unrighteoufnefs, refigning his com- 
fortable poft on condition that he mould enjoy 
Crowle Houfe (about four miles from Worcefter) 
with plate, linen, and furniture, and occafional 
lodgings at the priory, the keep of two geldings, 
fuel at Worcefter and Crowle, a monk to wait 



Catholics. 5 

on him, a penfion of 50/. per annum, 1000 
marks down on the nail, and the payment of all 
his debts, which amounted to 100/. Green fays 
that he had alfo the manor of Grimley. The 
houfe to which the ex-prior retired is ftill in 
exiftence, near the church at Crowle, and his 
coffin-flab may be found, after fome difficulty, in 
the interior of the church. Henry Holbech y alias 
Randes, was the laft nominal prior ; he had been 
confecrated Bifhop-fuffragan of Worcefter, with 
the title of Bifhop of Briftol^ and on the furrender 
of the priory he was appointed the firft Dean, 
and fubfequently Bifhop of Rochefter and Lincoln. 
John Barlow fucceeded him as Dean in 1544; 
and in 1553, Philip Hawford, the laft Abbot 
of Evejham^ became Dean in return for having 
furrendered fo eafily his own abbey fome years 
before. All this was but a change of name, and 
a promotion of pliable men in the place of thofe 
who maintained on principle that Henry was not 
de jure the head of the church of Chrift in thefe 
realms. The creed and ceremonials of the 
church had undergone but little variation, nor 
had the Romifh fpirit of perfecution died out at 
this early period of our tranfitional progrefs ; for 
I find that, in the laft year of this king's reign, a 
lad of twelve years of age, named John Davis 
(nephew of Thomas Johnfon y an apothecary of 
Worcefter)^ for reading the Teft anient and other 



6 Wore eft er Seels, 

good Engliih books, was horribly treated in a 
dungeon at the Worcefter Guildhall, called "the 
Peephole," after having been removed from the 
cell into which he was firft put, and where they 
tefted his pow T ers of endurance by holding his 
finger in a candle, but, as the hiftorian gravely 
affures us, " without any vifible effecT: upon the 
finger or the boy's form of mind." He was 
then put in iron bolts, and made to lie on the 
cold damp ground, with only two fheepfkins to 
cover him, nor allowed to be vifited by any of 
his friends. The Papifts (fays the chronicler, 
Fox^ in his Book of Martyrs) made great threats 
at him, and even put a madman for his com- 
panion, who threatened his life with a large 
knife. The poor boy was to have been tried 
before the Judges, but ere their arrival the King 
went to his long account, " and the force of 
the law was ftayed." Davis was neverthelefs 
arraigned before the J udges, Port man and Marven^ 
who ordered him to be whipped, but a Mr. 
Bourne (afterwards Sir John Bourne^ Secretary of 
State, who refided at Battenhall)^ declared to the 
Judges that he had had whipping enough, and 
then took him to his houfe and well treated him, 
but at laft put him away for fear he mould infect 
their fon Anthony with herefy. Davis afterwards 
became "a profitable minifter in the Church of 
England." This account, written by Davis 



Catholics. j 

himfelf, is abridged in Fox's Martyrs, but has 
been recently published in full by the Camden 
Society, and ably edited by my excellent friend, 
Mr. John Gough Nichols, F.S.A. 

The fhrines of St. Ofwald and St. Wulftan, in 
Worcefter Cathedral, had been taken down in 
1538, and the bones of the faints, together with 
thofe of Bilhop de Conftantiis, were wrapped in 
lead and buried at the north fide of the high 
altar — a fufficient indication that the relics of 
thofe great men were expe£ted to interfere no 
more in human affairs, and might now reft in 
peace with the afhes of their fathers. For the 
firft time on Candlemas Day, 1547, no candles 
were hallowed or borne, nor were afhes hallowed 
on Afh Wednefday; the high altar was taken 
down to the ground in 155 1 ; and on May 13th, 
1560, Bifhop Sandys began his vifitation at 
Worcefter, when the crucifix and images of Our 
Lady were burnt in the yard of the Cathedral. 
The image of Our Lady was a very large one, 
and had been held in great reverence, but when 
ftripped of the veils that covered it, our reformers 
found out that it was a ftatue of a bifhop, ten 
feet high ! By that time, not only had the 
Papal dominion come to an end in England, but 
the religion of which His Holinefs was the chief 
hierarch had ceafed to be the profefTed religion 
of the Englifh nation ; the odours of its incenfe 



8 Worcefter Setts. 

had evaporated, and the glories of its iplendid 
altars faded away ; its proceffions and pageants 
no longer delighted the maffes of the people, 
and the functions of its vaft and complicated 
machinery ceafed their movements. Then were 
croffes, chalices, cenfers, and pvxes, made into 
filver pots and cups " for the communion table," 
or ufeful veiTels u for Mr. Dean and common 
hofpitality ; " while copes and veftments were 
transformed into coverings for the communion 
table or cuiliions for the choir and church. In 
an inventor} 7 of the Priory furniture at the DiiTo- 
lution, among other things are the following : 

" Item, Seynt Ofwalde and Sevnt Vlftans hede 
with felvr and gvlte — a mvter for Sevnt Ofwaldt 
hede— with ftonvs fet ther ynn, a arme of Sevnt 
Edmunde the Byfshoope, ii woode covervde with 
felver gylte, — a arme of Seynt Roman* the 
Byfshope coveryde yn certen placis with felver, 
ii fmall fiyms — gvlte with lyttle ftonvs yn the 
wiche ther bynn certen relyquis of Sevnt OJwalde 
and Seynt Wlfta — coveryde with felvr, a movie 
of Sevnt Ofwalde una vitta cirra caput Ste Mar- 
garete — with felver, with other garnvffvnge with 
felver abowte the hede, xi thouiande Y'gvns, in 
parte of a fkul — of Hereford's tombe garnyilyde 
in golde and gylte with ii rynges, ii old pannes of 

xvi galands, a pe bafen to tempr wax ther 

yn, a tryvett." 

Thus was the genius of Poperv unrobed, and 



Catholics. 9 

"with fighing Tent" from all her ancient groves. 
The friars, too, fhared no better fate than their 
brethren the monks, for among other eftablifh- 
ments broken up in Worcefter at the Reformation 
were — 

i. — The Francifcans or Grey Friars, founded 
by a Beauchamp, fome relics of which- eftablifh- 
ment, efpecially the refectory, remained till within 
living memory on the fite of the prefent City 
Gaol. At the Suppreffion, this eftablifhment was 
granted to the bailiffs and citizens of Worcefter, 
who paid yearly a rent to the crown. 

2. — The Dominicans, or Black (preaching) 
Friars, whofe houfe was fituate at the back of 
Broad Street, alfo founded by a Beauchamp of 
Powick, about the time of Edward II L In the 
twenty-hrft vear of that reign they had a grant 
of a piece of ground within the city walls, called 
" Bellaffes," to build their houfe upon. At the 
Diflblution, this houfe was alfo granted to the 
bailiffs and citizens of Worcefter. 

3. — The Trinity Guild; founded by Richard 
Norton, 45th of Edivard III, being a brotherhood 
or charitv of three priefts or chaplains, to fing 
mafs perpetually for the foul of the founder and 
for all Chriftian fouls, and to help the parfon and 
curate of the parifh church in time of need, 
u becauie it doth abound of houfeling people/' 
At the Diffolution it paffed into various hands, 
and the Trinity Hall became the property of the 
corporation of weavers, walkers, and clothiers. 

4, — The White Ladies' Nunnery, founded by 
a Bifhop of JVorcefter before the Norman con- 



10 Wore eft er Seels. 

queft. If I miftake not, the prefent worthy 
incumbent of St. Swithin's ftill receives a portion 
of his income as chaplain or father confeffor to 
thefe poor white ladies, who have fo long formed 
one of the unrealities of life; former incumbents 
were their confeffors, and at the fuppreflion of 
the nunnery it was granted to Richard Gallowbill, 
and the fite is now held under the governors of 
Queen Elizabeth's School in this city, while a 
portion of its income was fecured to St. Swithin's 
living. Of courfe, mould the Proteftant eftab- 
lifhment take a monaftic turn, the Rev. R. 
Sarjeant and his fucceffors will have to do duty 
in the confeffor line, for value already received. 

5. — St. Ofwald'S) eftablifhed for monks infected 
with leprofy, afterwards changed into a lodging 
houfe for the wayfarer, and fubfequently into 
almflioufes, was not diffolved at the Reformation, 
but merely transferred into the Proteftant cuftody 
of the Dean and Chapter. 

6. — The Commandery, founded by St. Wulftan 
in Norman times, as a religious order of St. 
Auguftine, profeffing chaftity, poverty, and obedi- 
ence. The mafters of this order affumed the 
title of praceptores, or commanders, and hence the 
name of the eftablifhment, which has remained 
to this day. Soon after the Diffolution, the 
houfe and its poffeffions were conveyed to T. 
Wylde, clothier, from whence Wylde's Lane 
takes its name. 

7. — -Chantries in many of the parifh churches. 

8. — A " Convent of Fr aires de panitentia Jefu 
Chrifti" or " Friars of the Sack," made a fettle- 
ment here temp. Henry III; and fome " Friars 
of the Holy Trinity, for the redemption of cap- 



Catholics, 1 1 

tives/ 5 were faid to have been located between 
Angel Lane and Broad Street, but I have met 
with no information whether thefe were in exift- 
ence at the time of the Reformation. 

In the firft year of Edward VI the council 
iflued injunctions for removing images from all 
churches, and during a general vifitation the 
rofary and mafs were doomed ; the Bifhops and 
clergy were fummoned to take the oath of allegi- 
ance and to make ufe of the new book of homilies 
and Erafmus's Paraphrafe. In the month of 
November after Henry's death, at the meeting 
of Parliament, mafs was fung in Englifh for the 
firft time. The Worcefter parochial records do 
not go back to this date except the books of St. 
Michael *s parifh, in which the progrefs of the 
Reformation under the young King is diftinctly 
fet forth. A man was employed in that little 
church to hew down the images and whitelime 
the walls ; the holy water pot and certain organ 
pipes were fold for 2s. iod.^ and all other furni- 
ture appertaining to the exploded ceremonies 
was difpofed of at what would be called (in 
modern drapers' flang) " an alarming facrifice." 
Moreover, the churchwardens and their friends, 
who made out an inventory on the occafion, took 
care to make merry at a tavern over the fallen 
fortunes of the old difpenfation and the brighter 
advent of the new. Boards on treftles were 



12 JVorcefter Hefts. 

fubftituted for the altar, and inftead of fculptured 
faints and feneftral emblazonment, a man was 
engaged to write the Scriptures (on the walls) 
and paint the church at id. per yard. 

Defperate efforts were at that time made in 
Devon/hire and other counties to reftore the old 
religion, and the Catholics oppofed the King's 
preachers to the face ; but their attempts were 
uniformly defeated. Heath, then Bifhop of 
JVorcefter, had protefted again ft the new ordinal 
and form of ordination drawn up by virtue of an 
Act of Parliament, and refufmg to fubfcribe 
thereto he was fent to the Fleet and deprived of 
his bifhopric, Hooper being his fueceffor. 

At Queen Mary's acceffion to the throne, the 
altars of the profcribed faith were again erected; 
and the cryfmatory, cenfer, and pyx, once more 
appeared in the inventory of St, Michael's church, 
with the pafcal taper, wax, and frankincenfe. 
To the credit of many of the bifhops in Mary's 
reign be it recorded that they had but little 
ftomach for fuperintending the fanguinary fcenes 
which then difgraced the Englifh rule, and gener- 
ally they left all the work and wickednefs to 
others, as at Briftol, to Dalby, the chancellor, 
who appears to have been fo fond of the fiery 
element in this world that it is hoped his earthly 
taftes have not been confulted in that to which 
he has fince gone.* Indeed it has been juftly 

* See the Brijlol Church-goer. 



Catholics. 1 3 

faid, that we can hardly credit hiftory or our 
fenfes, at this diftance of time, to think that 
there could have been a period in our annals, or 
a people amongft our anceftors, when and by 
whom fuch wanton and infane cruelties could 
have been perpetrated. But thefe ails of Mary's 
time were only the temporary glare thrown out 
by a dying flame. The five years' refufcitation 
of the old faith had probably done more than all 
previous experiences to confirm the national ab- 
horrence of Popery, nor did the blood of Pro- 
teftants fo freely fhed during that brief period 
appeal to heaven in vain. The knell of the 
Romi/h creed in England was rung and the day 
of retribution was at hand. Neverthelefs all 
good Chriftians muft regard with horror the vin- 
dictive violence with which the nation avenged 
itfelf on a perfecuting priefthood, fallen from 
power. Chriftian charity might have fuggefted 
to our Puritan forefathers the exercife of that 
toleration and forbearance which they had fought 
in vain at the hands of men whofe creed necefTa- 
rily enforced the extermination of heretics. But, 
alas for human weaknefs, the truth muft be told, 
even if it difabufe many a Proteftant reader of 
fondly cherimed hallucinations, begotten by one- 
fided hiftories, written from a ftand-point of 
the groiTeft partiality. Mojheim fays it is an 
obfervation often made, that all religious fefts, 



14 Wore eft er Seels. 

when they are kept under and oppreffed, are 
remarkable for inculcating the duties of modera- 
tion, forbearance, and charity, towards thofe who 
diffent from them, but that as foon as the fcenes 
of perfecution are removed, and they in their 
turn arrive at power and preeminence, they 
forget their own precepts and maxims, and leave 
both the recommendation and practice of charity 
to thofe who groan under their yoke. 

With the acceffion of Queen Elizabeth (1558) 
commences the real hiftory of the perfecution of 
the Catholics in this country ; and thofe who 
inveftigate that hiftory with fairnefs cannot but 
admit that, whether in reference to the Catholic 
clergy or laity, more noble examples of heroic 
fortitude, patience, long-fuffering, and unyielding 
avowal of what they believed to be the truth, 
have never been prefented in any period of the 
world's hiftory or in any phafe of " man's inhu- 
manity to man." It is probable that at this 
period the two great religious parties — the Catho- 
lics and all who diffented from them — were 
nearly equal in numbers throughout the country, 
and it may be readily imagined that antagoniftic 
feelings everywhere pervaded fociety to an extent 
almoft fubverfive of focial order and individual 
fecurity. Inftances of this occurred at Worcefter. 
Sir yohn Bourne^ of Holt Caftle, lord of the 
manor of Battenhall (St. Peter's parifh, Wore eft er\ 



Catholics, 15 

who was one of the principal Secretaries of State 
in the time of Mary, and a great enemy to the 
Reformation and the Proteftant Bifhops, is faid 
in Strype's Annals to have infulted Mrs. Wiljon, 
wife of the Dean of Worcefter, in 1563, and the 
wife of a prebendary, by taunting them with 
being the wives of priefts — a condition which the 
Catholic party looked upon as little better than 
one of adultery ; and a violent affray took place 
between the fervants of the refpeftive parties in 
confequence. In Strypes relation great ftrefs is 
laid upon the facSt that Mrs. Wilfon was a gentle- 
woman, and hence the inference that Sir John 
Bourne was " no gentleman." Dr. Wilfon, the 
hufband of this lady, was one of the judges at 
Frankfort, in 1557, to decide the religious difputes 
which began to arife among the refugees, and 
giving origin to that diffenfion which afterwards 
fo miferably rent and divided the Church of 
England, Here he was diftinguifhed among the 
principal divines who exerted their abilities on 
the occafion, his name being fubfcribed to a plan 
for amending their difcipline. In 1562-3 he was 
chofen by the Dean and Chapter of Worcejter 
to reprefent them in the Weftminfter Affembly; 
and although he would have gone further in the 
abolition of what he confidered Popifh remains, 
when it was carried againft-him he did not deem 
thefe indifferent things a fufficient ground to 



1 6 Wore eft er Seels. 

juftify his feparation from the Eftablifhed Church. 
He voted for the famous fix articles : I. To 
abolifh all holy days except thofe of Chrijt and 
Sundays ; 2. For the minifter in time of prayer 
to turn his face to the people ; 3. To omit the 
crofs in baptifm ; 4. To leave to the difcretion 
of the Ordinary the order of kneeling at the 
communion \ 5. For the minifter to ufe the fur- 
plice only in time of divine fervice and the 
facraments, and that no minifter officiate but in 
a comely garment (this was meant to alter the 
facerdotal habits further from thofe ufed in the 
Romijh Church); and, 6. To remove organs out 
of churches. Thefe articles were thrown out of 
the lower houfe by a majority of only one. 

Sir John Bourne was alfo known as the perfe- 
cutor (in the time of Queen Mary) of Mr. Edward 
Underbill^ a Proteftant, one of the band of Gen- 
tlemen Penfioners, and nephew of Robert Winter^ 
of Wych, county of Worcefter, When the faid 
Underbill was examined before the council on a 
charge of making " a ballatt againft ye Papiftes," 
he feems to have had the beft of the argument 
with Sir John. The latter admitted that Underbill 
had come of a u worihipful houfe in Worcefter- 
jhire" and regretted that he was " a heritike 
knave," and had " fpent his levynge wantonly." 
Underbill replied that he had confumed no part 
of his living until he came into " the Kynges 



Catholics, 17 

farvis," and added— -"I parfeave you Borne' s fon 
of Worfeter, who was beholdon unto my uncle 
Wynter, and therfore you have no caufe to be my 
enemy ; nor yow never knew me, nor I vow 
before now, wich is too foone." " I have harde 
enough off yow," faid Bourne, cc So have I off 
you," replied Underbill, " how that Mr. Sheldone 
drove you oute of Worceterjhire for your behavy- 
oure." In the reign of Elizabeth, Sir John 
Bourne, being fteward of the church of Worcefter, 
entered into great difputes with the new Pro- 
teftant Bifhop, Edwin Sandys, which led to 
various frays in Worcefter, and eventually to Sir 
John's imprifonment for fix or {even weeks in 
the Marfhalfea, as narrated by Strype. 

Another little illuftration of the times may be 
found in the hiftory of Gilbert Bourne (nephew 
of the outrageous Knight of Holt Caftle and 
Battenhall, above-named), who was made one of 
the firft Prebendaries of Wore eft er in 154 1. As 
he was preaching at St. Paul's in 1553, happening 
to obferve that Bifhop Bonner was unjuftly de- 
prived, fome of his audience became fo offended 
that one of them fired a piftol at him, and another 
threw a dagger which ftuck in the pillar that 
fupported the pulpit \ thus evincing the popular 
opinion of the temporifing policy both of Bonner 
and his advocate. 

Elizabeth has been very juftly accufed of into!- 



1 8 Worcefter SeSfs. 

erance and perfecution both by Papifts and Puri- 
tans. On the one hand the oath of allegiance to 
Her Majefty was made a frightful bugbear, by 
which was incurred the forfeiture of all benefices 
and property, and even the punifhment due to 
high treafon was dealt out ; while on the other 
the act of uniformity enforced the ufe of the 
Book of Common Prayer^ on pain of perpetual 
imprifonment and heavy fines for every inftance 
of non-attendance at the parifh church. The 
" fcavenger's daughter " plied her hateful trade 
as bufily as if there had been a Proteftant inqui- 
fition, bending and comprefling the bodies of 
wretched Catholics till blood iflued from their 
ears and nofes ; iron gauntlets crufhed their 
hands, needles were inferted under their nails, 
and many a poor recufant was introduced to the 
famous hole in the Tower known as " Little 
eafe," where it was impoflible to ftand, fit, or 
lie. But our great maiden Queen is not alto- 
gether without excufe : fhe was beleaguered on 
all fides by powerful and defigning enemies ; and 
we who fit in eafy arm chairs in thefe days of 
domeftic peace and quietude know but little of 
the ftern neceflities which rendered ftrong mea- 
fures eflential to the policy of thofe times. 
Pius V had aflumed to depofe the Queen, and 
the Papal excommunication was pofled by Health 
on the Bifhop of London's palace in the very 



Catholics. 19 

heart of the metropolis. What with Catholic 
revolts and Proteftant nonconformity — with ru- 
mours of plots and apprehenfions from Jefuits — 
with the efforts made by Spain and other Catholic 
powers to coerce this kingdom in the matter of 
its religion — Elizabeth's bed was not one of 
rofes. Pope Clement ufed to vent his humour 
on Her Majefty by calling her " an old woman 
without a hufband and without a certain fuc- 
ceffor." His Holinefs might have been a little 
lefs bitter : Elizabeth's fympathies were with 
Catholicifm, but, true to her father's blood, fhe 
could not tolerate a foreign Pope — at leaft fhe 
knew the nation would not again fubmit to the 
yoke, and that her crown depended on her 
decided and vigorous fupport of the caufe of the 
Reformation. She tortured Catholics not fo 
much for religion's fake as on political grounds ; 
and although the foundnefs of this policy may 
now be generally queftioned — efpecially as the 
bulk of the Engli/h Catholics repudiated the 
Pope's bull — it muft be borne in mind that 
the age of Elizabeth had not arrived at a clear 
perception of the principles of constitutional 
liberty and religious toleration, while the nation 
had too much to dread from the ftruggles and 
infidious efforts of a powerful though fallen 
hierarchy to ceafe for one moment from the moft 
jealous watchfulnefs and repreffive if not exter- 



20 Worcefter Setts. 

minating meafures. One of the greateft objec- 
tions to Catholicity was the Papal affumption of 
temporal power—- an objection in which many 
influential Englijh Catholics of that day feem- 
ingly concurred 5 and but for this development 
of the Papacy it is poffible that even now the 
Weftern Church might have been undivided, 
though reformed. 

In the month of May, 1559, mafs was entirely 
abolifhed and images were generally deftroyed. In 
the county of Worcefter^ I believe, only two fculp- 
tured figures now remain attached to churches, 
the furvivors of the iconoclaftic outbreak of that 
time — namely, at Leigh and Roufelench. All the 
Bifhops, except Anthony of Llandaff, refufed to 
take the oath of fupremacy, and notwithstanding 
the vigilance with v/hich the ports were guarded 
three of them efcaped to the Continent, among 
them being Bifhop Richard Pate of Worcefter^ 
who was Succeeded by Edward Sandys. The 
parochial clergy, however, did not generally fol- 
low the example of their bifhops, for out of 
9,400 preferments, only 80 parifh priefts, 50 
prebendaries, 15 heads of colleges, 12 archdea- 
cons, 12 deans, 6 abbots, and the bifhops, refigned 
their places ; and of thefe felf-denying few, I 
believe not one was an incumbent of any Worcefter 
city parifh, NajV s lifts giving no prefentation to 
any living in this city in 1559. The Catholic body 



Catholics. 21 

now generally relinquished their old churches. 
For about fifteen years they had fubmitted to the 
Proteftant laws of Elizabeth^ and had attended 
the pariih churches, under the idea that they had 
done quite enough if, in going and returning, 
they kept together and avoided the fociety of the 
Proteftants. But now, a council declared the 
attendance at Proteftant worfhip to be grievouily 
finful, and the payment of fines for abfence from 
church was confidered by far the leffer evil of 
the two. Elizabeth herfelf is faid to have received 
20,000/. a year from rich Catholics for difpenfa- 
tions not to attend Proteftant worfhip ; and 
although this is an allegation made by her 
enemies, Her Majefty's inherent and incurable 
acquifitivenefs renders the truth of the charge 
not improbable. 

The Englijh million of Jefuits was founded by 
Father Perfons in 1572, and in the midland dis- 
trict the miffioners laboured devotedly, but under 
great difficulties and in conftant difguifes. Then 
the proceedings againft Catholics became more 
rigorous, priefts being everywhere hunted up, im- 
prifoned, expatriated, or executed ; the rack and 
the gibbet groaned and creaked - 3 every Catholic 
prieft was ordered to quit the kingdom within 
forty days on pain of death, and thofe who gave 
aid or fupport to them were alfo condemned to 
death, juft as if guilty of theft or murder. Par- 



22 Worcefter Setts. 

liament like wife granted power to Her Majefty 
to deftroy all priefts who, being exiled, fiiould 
return to England^ or who fhould dare to enter 
her dominions, fuch an act being declared high 
treafon. Neverthelefs, the laws neither prevented 
priefts from entering England nor the people from 
receiving and helping them. The fufferings 
which refulted herefrom may be gathered from 
the State trials, from documents ftill preferved 
at Douay, Stoneyhurft^ &c, as alfo from the 
writings of Bifhop Challoner^ Canon Flanaghan, 
and others. Of courfe at that time there was no 
public place of worfhip for the Catholics either 
at Worcefter or any other town in the kingdom, 
although the Engllfh million had been consoli- 
dated in 1598 and the kingdom divided into 
twelve circuits, with a head prieft and chapter 
of twelve affiftants. In private houfes the rites 
of the Romift) faith were ftill celebrated ; great 
care, however, was taken neither to admit many 
perfons at the fame moment nor to make the 
temporary chapel or abode of the prieft too con- 
fpicuous ; for the prieft, hiding holes were pre- 
pared in gentlemen's houfes, of which numerous 
fpecimens ftill exift, as at Cough ton , &c, while 
the place affigned for the mafs was ufually an 
obfcure room or garret, whither no one unob- 
ferved could go. This precaution was very 
neceffary, for prieft hunters abounded who la- 



Catholics. 23 

boured hard in their office in confequence of the 
reward of 100/. offered to every one who fhould 
convicSt a perfon of being a prieft. This grant 
was allowed as late even as 1778, and there 
are perfons ftill living who diftindtly remember 
going ftealthily to their garrets to hear mafs. 
Ordinarily the prieft had a home in fome noble- 
man's family, but did not remain long in one 
place, removing from one Catholic houfe to 
another, and from one county or diftrift to 
another, in various difguifes and under feigned 
names, encouraging his brethren in their day 
of trial and perfecution. At Oxford^ in 1577, 
one Roland yenks^ a Catholic bookfeller, was 
condemned at the affizes to have his ears nailed 
to the pillory and to deliver himfelf when he felt 
inclined by tearing them off with his own hands ; 
but no fooner was the fentence paffed than the 
judge, magiftrates, jury, and hundreds of others 
prefent, were ftruck with a ftrange mortal dif- 
temper, which carried off many inftantly on the 
fpot and others foon afterwards. The Catholic 
chroniclers ufe this hiftorical fail as a divine 
interpofition in their favour, while others have 
feen in it only the necelTary refult of a negleft of 
fanitary precautions, combined with the extreme 
heat of the weather, the crowded ftate of the 
court, and the filthy condition of the prifoners. 
The practice at that time was, when a prieft 



24 Worcefter Setts. 

was caught, to hang him 5 cut him down while 
alive, embowel and quarter the carcafe, and put 
up the four quarters on the gates or entrances to 
the town : 

" Indeed 'tis true, and yet 'tis wondrous odd, 
To hate each other for the love of God." 

Before Elizabeth's death, fo long as there 
was a doubt of the fucceffion, parries was lavifh 
of promifes to all parties, and among the reft to 
the affifted Catholics ; but when he afcended the 
throne, and petitions were prefented to him in 
favour of toleration, he difappointed both Puritans 
and Catholics, without earning the refpeft of the 
Eftablifhed Church. Plots were then again rife, 
and the laws of Elizabeth were reimpofed with 
great rigour. In Hereford/hire efpecially it is 
ftated that 409 families were ftripped of every- 
thing in a very fhort time ; and at Warzvick, 
jfohn Sugar was executed for being a feminary 
prieft. He was famous for his love of the poor, 
and had travelled on foot over a great part of 
Worcefterjhire and the adjoining counties. Hindlip 
Houfe, near Worcefter, was at an early period of 
the perfecution the great centre of Catholicity 
in this diftricSt, whither high and low repaired, as 
is defcribed by Juvency, in his Hiftoria Societatis 
Jefiu This ancient manfion (fee frontifpiece) 
was then the refidence of Mr. Habingdon ; and if 



Catholics. 25 

in one retreat more than another great pains had 
been taken to afford fhelter and fafety to the 
hunted priefts it was here. Mr. Habingdon' 's 
prieft, Edward Oldcorn (a native of York), who 
had been ftationed at Hindlip by his fuperior, 
Gametic was long known as u the apoftle of 
Worcefterjhire" His labours in this and the 
adjoining counties — the dangers he was expofed 
to and his miraculous efcapes — are defcribed as 
having been inconceivable. Oliver, in his Col- 
leclions, fays " It would require a volume to infert 
the good deeds of this virtuous, wife, and cha- 
ritable father and indefatigable miffioner — the 
number of perfons whom he converted and of 
Catholics he reclaimed — of fcholars whom he 
fent over to the feminaries, and of devout females 
to the convents." Father Gerard fays, " Indeed 
I may fafely fay of him, without amplification, 
that in tilts partibus iotas fere fundavit, rexitque eccle- 
fias domefticas. I neither do know nor have known 
any one prieft in England that did go fo many 
journeys as he did, efpecially towards the latter 
end of his time, when he grew to be acquainted 
with fo many places that he could never almoft 
ftay three days at home but he mould be fent 
for." Thomas Lifter, another Jefuit, alfo refided 
at Hindlip with Oldcorn, as ftated in Gerard? s 
MS. : " Habebat autem focium infignem et doclum 
patrem Thomam Lifterum" Here alfo was Ralph 



26 Wore eft er Seels. 

AJhley (alias Chambers), a lay brother and the 
attached fervant of Oldeorn. 

The circumftances of the Gunpowder Plot are 
no doubt well known to my readers, and the con- 
nection therewith of feveral Wore eft erfhire fami- 
lies — Winter of Huddington , Lyttelton of Hagley, 
and Habingdon of Hindlip. Catefby and Percy, the 
principal confpirators, with their followers, took 
fhelter in a houfe of Lyttelton's at Holbeach, but 
being attacked by the High Sheriff of Worcefter- 
Jhire, were {lain with fome others, and the reft 
ultimately taken — Winter at Hagley, and Lyttelton 
at Preftwood. Garnett, fufpected of having been 
privy to the plot, was fain to feek concealment ; 
and being invited to Hindlip by Oldeorn, he took 
fhelter there. But Lyttelton, who was tried at 
Worcefter, and condemned for treafon becaufe he 
had received Winter into his houfe, gave informa- 
tion (with the view of obtaining a pardon for 
himfelf) of the hiding places of the two Jefuits 
and their followers at Hindlip. The circum- 
ftances of the retreat, the fearch, capture, and 
fubfequent treatment of thefe men, muft now be 
given in a manner probably new to my readers, 
who have been accuftomed to view this matter 
entirely from a Proteftant point of view. Let us 
hear what Father Juveney has to fay on this 
fubjecl:, premifing that my extract is a liberal 
tranilation from the Latin : 



Catholics. 27 

cc Being thus ejected from the ftation which 
he had long occupied, he (Garnett) was invited 
by Oldcorn to the houfe of the Habingdons^ where 
Oldcorn himfelf had lived a long time. The 
houfe or caftle was a large one, fituated at about 
the third mile ftone from Worcefter^ and was 
called Henlip ; it had various parts connected 
together by paffages, fo that you might call it a 
labyrinth ; and when the examiners came to find 
out priefts they went away, tired out by the in- 
extricable mazes of the receiTes or hiding places. 
In this caftle, as in a ftrong citadel, Oldcorn 
preferved the Catholic religion for fixteen years, 
and they ufed commonly to call him Hall) under 
which name, as if a kinfman of Habingdon's, he 
was known and beloved not only by Catholics 
but alfo by the very heretics themfelves, on 
account of his very bland manners ; and hither 
from the whole province congregated for the 
fake of piety the Catholic nobility, who ufed to 
join Oldcorn in the facraments and other ordi- 
nances' of the church. There often, with others, 
had been Humphrey Littleton^ who was detected 
in having received the confpirators (who foon 
after the confpiracy had fled from the city) into 
his own houfe. Having been thrown into prifon 
on that account, and fentenced to death, he 
unhappily thought it might procure his pardon 
if he indicated the hiding place of the fathers. 
Accordinglyhe named the houfe of Mr. Habingdon^ 
where he divulged that Garnett was living with 
Oldcorn. 

"Exulting in an incredible manner at this infor- 
mation, H. Bromley — by far the moft impure of 
the Puritans — flies off with 200 horfemen, having 



28 Wore eft er Seels, 

been fet over this bufinefs by Parliament, and 
with the hope of grafping his (Habingdorfs) 
eftate, which was contiguous to his own. He 
furrounds the cafile with part of his attend- 
ants, fome of whom he leads to the gates, which 
not being opened as foon as ufual on fuch occa- 
fions, he breaks down the door, and palling 
through the breach he receives the keys of the 
houfe, and garrifons every part, juft as in a fur- 
rendered city. Having examined every part of 
it for eight days, but being unable by any art to 
find out the blind entrances and the hiding places, 
he determined at laft to keep a watch until hun- 
ger mould wear out thofe who were concealed, 
and force them to furrender. Nor was fuccefs 
wanting to his defign, for two men fervants 
[Owen and AJhley) almoft dead with hunger* and 
defirous to confult the intereft of the fathers, 
who they faw would perifh in a fhort time for 
want of food, emerged from their retreat, and 
being immediately feized, they reprefented them- 
felves as being Oldcorn and Garnett^ expecting 
to be at once carried off — in which cafe the 
fathers could have efcaped — but a light having 
been brought, and they being clofely infpected, 
and perfons being called who knew both the 
priefts, the fraud was detected, and the fearch 
was renewed. Some days were confumed in 
overhauling the walls, in breaking the floors 
and wainfeots, and opening the ceilings. At 
length they found their prey in a recefs in the 



* The two fervants had but one apple to fubfift upon for three 
days ; the two fathers had been maintained by means of a quill or 
reed paffed through a hole into the gentlewomen's chamber, 
which broths and foups were fucked in. 



rn 



Catholics. 29 

upper ceiling, which had been elegantly painted 
over, and the difcovery well repaid the labour. 
Shouts followed the fucceisful difcovery, and a 
frefh party having come from London, Garnett 
and Oldcorn were carried back in triumph in the 
midft of them, although it was in reality a 
triumph of patience, moderation, and charity — 
through the odour of which virtues, by degrees 
Bromley (and others who had joined themfelves 
as companions to Bromley for the fake of honour) 
began to fpeak highly of Garnett, efpecially of 
his doctrine, piety, and moderation. 

cc Three davs after, when firft brought out of 
prifon, they followed him with an unufual de- 
monftration of honour, and the judges were fo 
softened by his firft anfwers that one of them 
did not hefitate to fay openly there could be no- 
thing in the character and caufe of fo excellent 
a man, except his Papiftical doctrine, that he 
(Garnett) mould dread fe verity in his judgment. 
But a method and a colour of accufation was to 
be fought which was to deftroy Garnett in the 
name of a confpiracv. This pretext was not 
found till after four months. 

" The caufe of Oldcorn was decided firft, and 
three things were objected againft him, firft, 
that he had invited Garnett to Henlip ; fecond, 
that he had recommended by letter .to Father 
Jones to hide two of the confpirators 5 and third, 
that he had appeared to approve of the con- 
fpiracv by his anfwers. One witnefs (H. Little- 
ton) was induced to accufe him, in the hope of 
obtaining a pardon for himfelf. Oldcorn admitted 
that he had invited Garnett to a hiding place at 
Henlip, but that was before it had been forbidden 



30 Wore eft er Seels. 

by edift; as to the fecond charge, he denied having 
written letters to Jones ; and on the third, he 
admitted having fpoken to Littleton about the 
confpiracy, but not approving of it. Thefe 
anfwers did not fatisfy the judges, who in vain 
endeavoured bv torture to draw out further ad- 
millions, and at length they declared that fo far 
as he had fpoken out he appeared to be innocent, 
but by what he had concealed in his mind he 
was guilty! * * * 

M The confpirators were fo worn out by torture 
that they could fcarcely advance a ftep. Oldcorn 
himfelf, who mould have been treated more 
mildly, as being only fufpecled by the lighten 1 con- 
jecture, in the hearing of all the people affirmed 
that he was five times tortured> and once 
for five hours fo dreadfully that his mind and 
almoft his life failed him. To which atteftation 
none of the judges prefent oppofed anything, or 
it would have been abundantly refuted by the 
filent afpect of Oldcorn himfelf; his loofened arms 
and hands fufficiently confirmed this impious 
crueltv. In confequence of this he was unable 
to fubferibe his name to the favage fentence, and 
the officer of the court inferted the pen between 
his deadened fingers, drew his languid hand, and 
marked out fome ftraggling words. The judges 
feemed now deterred by fhame, and feveral 
London lawyers argued againft the iniquity of the 
proceedings. Oldcorn was then removed to JVor- 
cefter, fo that he might perifh more obfcurely. 
Habingdon and Winter were alfo led with him, 
and Littleton was fentenced to die with them. 
When he faw that he had been deceived with 
the hope of life he openlv confefied his treafon, 



Catholics. 31 

and declared that he died defervedly becaufe he 
had been the means of putting Oldcorn and Gar- 
nett to death, and from Oldcorn he fupplicated 
pardon for his falfehood, publicly detecting his 
perfidy. Not only this penitence of a Catholic 
man affedted Oldcorn with great comfort, but 
alfo the fudden converfion of a Calviniftic young 
man (almoft loft) who came over to the better 
part ; for the latter, being in the fame prifon 
with Oldcorn^ and being about to fufter the pun- 
ifhment due to his wickednefs the day after, 
relying on the vain doctrine of Calvin — that 
faith in Chrift alone expunged all our fins, fo 
that we need not fear danger or deftruition after 
death — relying on that vain faith, the young 
man laughed at the Catholics pioufly preparing 
themfelves for death, while he kept dancing and 
finging all night. But Oldcorn addrefling himfelf 
to him in his bland manner, after earneft prayers 
to God) taught him good things, and brought him 
to a deteftation of his wickednefs ; he was recon- 
ciled to the church, caft away his errors, and 
took the benefit of confeffion. 

" Joyful in this victory, Oldcorn proceeded to 
the fcene of punifhment, or rather of glory, on 
the 7th of April ; and when he came within 
fight of the people, with a loud voice he called 
God to witnefs that death was brought on him 
for two reafons, firft, becaufe he had exercifed 
the office of a prieft ; and fecond, becaufe he had 
received Garnett, although he had not then been 
profcribed by edi£t. Being then interrogated by 
the magiftrate why he was filent about the third 
and principal charge, namely the confpiracy, he 
replied that this charge could not pertain to 



32 I Fore eft er Serfs. 

him as he had never said or done anything in 
confequence of which he mould be confidered 
defervedly guiltv of the confpiracv. After thefe 
things, having piouflv called on God, he gave 
himfelf up to the hangman, bv whom he was 
fufpended and cut open ; his heart and inteftines, 
according to cuftom, were thrown into the fire, 
and from the place where his remains were 
buried flames broke out for fixteen days, which a 
copious rain was not able to extinguim. JVoreef- 
ter ran together as if to a portent ; and the 
magiftrate, feeing his own iniquity mine out bv 
the flames, did not ceafe till he had entirely 
covered them w^ith mould after the fafhion of a 
mountain.* But he did not on that account 
fucceed in burying the memory of this excellent 
man. Indeed Worcefter ufed to look upon him 
as her own apoftle. To him, as to an oracle, all 
Catholics ufed to applv, by whole wifdom thev 
might be ruled, and by whole charity thev might 
be cheriihed. Both laymen and priefts, toffed 
about by the wild waves of that troublous time, 
ufed to come together to the houle of Habingdon 
as to a fafe harbour. Pie added many to the 
Catholic ranks, and laved from herefv Dorothy^ 
the fifter of Habingdon. Scarce!"." anything (hows 
more clearly either the admirable power of grace 
or the excellence of Oldcorn than the converilon 
of this lady. She had grown up in the court of 
Elizabeth^ almoft in the bofom of hereiy, nor 
did fhe merely oppofe the Catholic dilputants per- 
tinaciouflv after the manner cf women, but 



i: 3 



w 7 as thought fhe anfwered lagacioull very 

fol ■■ t 



Catholics. 33 

theologically. Oldcorn feemed a moft fuitable man 
either to oppofe the female fpirit by his erudition 
or foften it by his politenefs and polifhed manner. 
His firft labour was in vain : if fhe found herfelf 
unable to repel the weapons of reafon by force 
fhe eluded them by craft, and broke them by a 
perfiftency always unconquered, being indeed 
afhamed to confefs herfelf overcome. What 
could Oldcorn do ? The voice of Chrift fpeaking 
came to his mind, that this was a certain kind of 
demon, which could not be driven out of her 
except by prayer and fafting. The difputation 
being left off, he engages in prayer and preferved 
a four days' faft. For the firft two days, Dorothy, 
wondering that he did not eat, fufpecled that he 
was very ill, and finding that he abftained from 
all food for a third and even a fourth day, fhe 
inquired the caufe. This being made known to 
her, looking at the great charity of the man, and 
being moved by Divine infpiration, fhe threw 
herfelf at his feet : being before arrogantly pre- 
tentious, fhe is now modeft and humble ; from 
being a miftrefs of error, fhe is now a difciple of 
the truth. 

" Oldcorn had been at Henlip for fixteen years, 
being often protected by the manifeft interpofition 
of God from plots to difcover him. On one 
occafion, Bromley, being informed that he was 
within, came quietly with a body of men, and 
having fcaled the wall, defcended into the garden 
where Oldcorn was by chance taking his exercife. 
The party civilly faluted him (not knowing it 
was Oldcorn) and paffed by, when he immedi- 
ately flipped away into his hiding place. Having 
made a long and fruitlefs fearch, a fufpicion 



34 Worcejter Seels. 

croffed their minds that he was the very man of 
whom they were in fearch, but running back, 
they found he was gone ; and their belief that 
he had efcaped by flight was confirmed on 
finding that a horfe which they had at firft feen 
in the ftable had alfo difappeared. Being uncer- 
tain which way he had fled, they at that time 
abandoned the fearch. A horfe was afterwards 
found feeding in a neighbouring meadow, but no 
one could afcertain by whom it had been led 
there or by which gate it had gone out. The 
fearchers, however, did not fo foon go away, for 
they were fatisfied by certain proofs that Oldcorn 
was lying hid there ; fo they furrounded the 
houfe with a circle of men, and for three days 
and nights tore the walls to pieces, digging 
through in more than twenty places. At laft 
they came to a wall in which he was hidden ; 
they beat the ftones one by one with hammers, 
partly to move them and partly to try the found, 
for if a harfh or dull found was returned it 
would give proof of fome hollow. At each of 
the blows, Oldcorn made the fign of the crofs, by 
which the ftones were fo guarded as to give back 
only a folid and clear found, feeming harder than 
adamant. The fearch was, therefore, abandoned, 
and the men went away tired. Nor did the 
powers above take lefs care of Oldcorn when he 
was induced to wander out of that caftle whither 
the falvation of fouls invited him. Having with 
fome companions entered on a journey by night 
he was feized by a troop of watchmen and car- 
ried before a neighbouring juftice, by whom he 
is afked who he is, and why travelling in thofe 
parts at that unfeafonable time. But behold 



Catholics. 35 

there fuddenly ftood by him an old man unknown, 
who pleaded for him in fo appofite an oration 
that he quite fatisfied the juftice. He is, there- 
fore, difmiffed with the appearance of honour, 
without having his baggage examined, in which, 
if the furniture of facred fervice and the books 
of a prieft had been found, he could not have 
efcaped being difcovered and condemned without 
delay. 

u In this manner the powers above, being pre- 
fent, guarded his life, as before that they had 
taken care of his health by a fingular benefit ; 
for when he was conftantly emaciating himfelf 
by voluntary penances — in which thing holy 
perfons fcarce keep fafe bounds — having burft a 
vein in his cheft, he poured out a great quantity 
of blood, fo that he often lay deftitute of ftrength 
and half dead. In addition to this there was a 
putrid ulcer in his mouth, and an incurable 
cancer. He, however, undertook a pilgrimage 
to St. Winifred's mrine, which is fituated in 
Wales^ and returned free from both difeafes." 

Challoner ftates that Qldcorn, on his Way to the 
well, lodged at a Catholic houfe, and was told by 
the prieft of the family that a ftone which had 
been taken out of the aforefaid well was kept in 
the houfe. Oldcorn, after the mafs, applied this 
ftone to his mouth, devoutly recommending him- 
felf to the prayers of St. Winifred^ and in half an 
hour was perfectly cured of his cancer. St. 
Winifred' *s well was in great efteem among the 
Worcejterjhire Catholics. Jefuit Owen reports 



36 Worcefter Setts. 

the cure of Roger Whetfton, then about fixty 
years of age, of an inveterate lamenefs by drink- 
ing the water of this well, on 28th Auguft, 1667. 
This poor man came from Bromfgrove, and from 
having been a " Quaker and Anabaptift " is faid 
to have become a ferious Catholic, and his fon, 
then about eleven years of age, was chriftened 
Catholko more, unto whom the greateft perfons 
in the country were pleafed to be patrines." 

For the extraordinary circumftances attending 
the execution of Oldcorn I have confulted More's 
Hiftory of the Anglican MiJJion, of whofe narrative 
the following is a rough tranflation : 

cc Oldcorn being fent back to Worcefter, to 
await the fentence of the accuftomed local tri- 
bunals, he was there fhut up in cuftody with 
common malefactors, and the day before he was 
led to his trial he had a companion in his chains, 
namely, a very wicked robber, charged with 
many crimes ; who, although he was to meet 
his punimment the day after, feemed free from 
care, and wandered about the prifon leifurely 
employing himfelf in dancing, finging, and jokes, 
fometimes addreffing one and then another with 
his facetiae, and rallying Father Oldcorn on the fu- 
perfluous anxiety which feemed to be confuming 
him before the time. The father, prudently 
thinking that the falvation of his companion was 
rather to be confidered than his own continued 
communication with God, addreffed the man, and 
afked wherein was the ground or caufe of his 
truft. If he felt no fear as to the next world ; 



Catholics. 37 

becaufe he thought there was nothing there either 
to be feared or hoped for, fuch a fentiment 
was unworthy of a Chriftian ; but if he feared 
not on account of the merits of Chrift^ which are 
our only ground of truft, he ought to remember 
that not faith only but good works were required 
of us by Chrift. The moft certain way to con- 
fidence was this : to unite to the merits of Chrift 
our obedience to his precepts. The robber 
(after more argument of this kind) entirely and 
thoughtfully delivered himfelf up to the inftruc- 
tor ; the reft of the day was fpent in inftrucftion 
and the night in confeffion. The next day, 
when both were being led to the place of execu- 
tion, this man, feparating himfelf from the other 
convi£ts, followed behind the hurdle on which 
the father was being dragged through kennels 
filthy with mire. Being afked why he did fo, 
he faid, c I follow my father, who mowed me the 
way of falvation, for in the faith which he profeffes 
I have determined to die.' c Are you 5 (they 
fay) c a Papift rogue ? ' Said he, c I was a thief, 
I confefs, and a robber, while I v/as yours ; but 
now, by the mercy of God and the afliftance of 
this man, I have become a Catholic, and am 
doing the penance of finners with a firm hope of 
eternal life.' 

" In one day, therefore, three were carried off 
by a fimilar punifhment — -being partners in one 
faith and one reward — namely, Oldcorn^ and the 
robber, and Rodolph (JJhley)^ the fervant of Old- 
corn. This man and John Owen (whom we 
have mentioned), on the tenth day after they had 
hidden themfelves, came out, either forced by 
want of food or induced by hope (as fometimes 



38 Worcefter Seels. 

happens) that they would be feized in miftake for 
the priefts ; hut Garneit was too well known for 
the obfervers to be deceived by the appearance 
of another. Therefore Rodolph was punifhed 
limply for having been the fervant of a prieft. 
As foon as Oldcorn reached the firft ftep of the 
ladder on which he was mounting, Rodolph 
coming up impreffed a kifs on the footftep, 
faying, c O happy man that I am, who have been 
given as fervant to this faint, and by him brought 
to live well, and now about to make an end of 
life by fo bleffed a death.' ( c He met his death,' 
fays O liver 1 c with the tranquillity and fortitude 
becoming the difciple of fuch a friend and father.') 
The body of Oldcorn having been cut into four 
parts, the bowels were thrown into a ditch, and 
are faid to have burnt with lire for fixteen 
days — about the fame number as the years in 
which he, while living, had ftriven to commu- 
nicate the Divine fire to the minds of the men 
of that region. This is confidered to have been 
a prodigy, efpecially as a copious rain had fallen 
during that time. On the feventeenth day the 
people collecting from the neighbouring places 
much earth was thrown on the flames, which 
were with difficulty extinguifhed. 

" And another thing is related to illuftrate the 
memory of both [Oldcorn and Garnett). There 
is before the houfe of Habingdon a large court, 
bounded by a wall ; there, after the two captives 
had been led out and mounted on horfeback, 
their laft footftep appeared clothed with a new 
kind of grafs, fuch as had never been ken by any 
one before that day — and not rifing up confufedlv 
and without order, but which imitated the figure 



Catholics, 39 

of an imperial crown, the herbage coming to- 
gether in a heap ; and although the doors had 
been thrown down by the force and preiiure of 
the party firft milling in, whereby there lay open 
an accefs for animals of any kind, while they fed 
on the reft they ufed to leave that untouched. 
Thefe may be coniidered trifling circumftances, 
and capable of various interpretations, yet God 
not unfrequently fpeaks by trifling things of this 
kind, in the fame manner as by the ivy of Iona 
and the unfruitful fig-tree, and thus calls us to 
higher things. And as the difciples and others 
varioufly interpreted the parables fpoken by Ghrift, 
fo if any one think that the innocence of thefe 
men and their holinefs of life is confirmed bv 
thefe proofs he is by no means to be oppofed, 
fince he does not depart from the cuftom of 
Ckrift and his difciples in parables." 

Challoner gives further particulars of Oldcorn's 
trial and execution, from which it appears that 
the trial took place at Worcefter Lenten Affize, 
and the execution on April 7th, 1606, being the 
Monday in Paflion Week, at Red Hill, near 
Worcefter, on the London Road. He was hung, 
cut down, and butchered alive at the age of 
forty-five ; his head and quarters were fet upon 
poles in different parts of the city, and his heart 
and bowels caft into the fire, which {Challoner 
adds) continued to fend forth a lively flame for 
fixteen days. A fonnet was compofed on this 
execution, of which the following is a fample : 



40 Worcefter SeSfs. 

"Few words he fpoke ; they flopped his mouth, 

And choked him with a cord ; 
And left he mould be dead too foon, 

No mercy they afford ; 
But quick and live they cut him down, 

And butcher him full foon, 
Behead, tear, and difmember ftraight, 

And laugh when all was done." 

Oliver remarks — 

" I hope in God the time will come when 
the city of Worcefter fhall fee and acknowledge 
both the burning charity with which Father 
Oldcorn lived and died among them, and the 
crown of glory he hath received of the hand of 
God for his faith fo truly kept and his courfe fo 
happily confummated. His life was holy, his 
death faintly. God fend us part of his blelTed 
merits and interceffion." 

Littleton was alfo executed at the fame time, 
together with John Winter^ Perks of Hagley, and 
Burford his man, for receiving and entertaining 
Robert Winter and S. Littleton at the time of 
their flight, contrary to the King's proclamation. 
Garnett met his fate in St. Paul's Churchyard, 
London, on the 3rd of May, 1606; and the 
Catholic hiftorians declare that fome drops of 
blood falling from his head on a ftalk of ftraw 
arranged themfelves into a minute but diftindt 
refemblance of Father Garnett, the features, 
beard, and neck, being all exa£tly formed to his 
likenefs. This ftraw was faid to have been at 
Stoneyhurft College for years, and Father Richard 



Catholics. 4 1 

Blount avouches the truth of the tale, " for/' 
fays he, " befides ourfelves, a thoufand others are 
witnefles of it.' 5 * Moreover, Garnet fs head 
being placed on London Bridge, is faid to have 
u retained the fame lively colour for which it had 
been confpicuous during life for about twenty 
days, which drew all London to the fpe£tacle." 
The fervant man Owen^ above mentioned, had 
alfo an alias ^ namely " Little John" and is faid 
to have poflefled wonderful ingenuity in con- 
triving fecret places for priefts to hide in, befides 
extraordinary difcretion and judgment, fo that he 
maintained the unbounded efteem and confidence 
of the Catholic clergy and gentry \ he was put 
on the rack for (even hours together in the 
Tower of London^ but never divulged his fecrets \ 
and they tortured him " till his bowels and his 
life gufhed out together." 

My readers may attach what weight they 
choofe to the above-mentioned evidence of mi- 
racles, by which the ecclefiaftics of thofe days 

# In a tract called The Fiery Trial^ publifhed in London^ 1612, 
the author, in an account of Popifh miracles, fays, " Adde hereto 
alfo their late coyned woonder of Garnet's face in a wheat fcrawe s 
vide lihrum cuius tituli pars <?/?, vera hiftoria de admirabili /pica. 
Rightly Englifhed— - 

" ' A fabulous ftory of a fained ftraw 

Firft divulged by a foolim jack-dawe.' " 

For a copy of the above, with many other fcarce and valuable 
works, now in the Worcefier Cathedral Library, I am indebted to 
the kindnefs of the Very Rev. the Dean. 



42 Wore eft er Serfs. 

maintained their hold upon the fuperftitious 

maffes ; but it mould be borne in mind that the 
works from which I have quoted were publimed 
at a fufficient diitance from the fcene of fuper- 
natural appearances, and in a language unknown 
to the mafs of the people, lb that no fear could 
be apprehended of an examination into or contra- 
diction of the alleged facts. The remembrance of 
the Gunpowder Plot was long kept up in War- 
cejierjbire with probably greater animus againft 
Popery than in moft other counties, owing to 
the local incidents which have been already 
detailed. On every recurring 5th of November 
the Worcefter Corporation provided fuel for the 
bonfires and drink for the happy fpectators, who 
paraded their " Guy " and committed him to 
the flames with that intenfe fatisfaction which 
ufually accompanies an act of religious patriotism. 
The wood and thatch of thofe days, however, did 
not iuit the development of bonfires, and after 
many ruinous conflagrations had occured in the 
city, this popular demonstration againft Popery 
was cried down in 1789, but ftill lingers amongft 
us in the fhape of an occafional fquib or a 
cracker difcharged by fome enterprifing youth 
when P. C. has turned the corner. 

Robert North, alias Duekett, another Jefuit, is 
mentioned by Gerard, in his Latin Autobio- 
graphy, as having been a prifoner in W&rcefter 



Catholics. 43 

Gaol when Oldcorn was executed ; he, however, 
got free from the toils, and was living at St. 
Omers in 1609. John Floyd, alfo a Jefuit in the 
Englifh miffion, in attempting to penetrate to 
Oldcorn, while the latter was detained a clofe 
prifoner in Worcefter Gaol, was apprehended and 
lay in prifon for a year, when he was fentenced 
to perpetual banifhment. More fays of him — 

" John, the brother of Henry Floyd, learnt by- 
experience that everything is not fafe which 
appears fo, for going to fee our Oldcorn in Wor- 
cefter Gaol he was detained there, and neither by 
entreaty nor the offer of a ranfom was he able to 
obtain his liberation, Pop ham being an obftacle.* 
After a year's exile he went to St. Omer's and 
devoted four years to preaching and bringing to 
light the various errors of the heretics, with 
great applaufe both for ingenuity and doctrine. 
Then returning to England, he was often bought 
off from the purfuivants, and at length emigrated 
to Louvain." 

In Father Perfons's Judgment of a Catholic 
Englijhman, publifhed in 1608, he fays that 
" no night paffed comonly but that foldiours and 



* Popham was Attorney General in 1582-3, and Chief Jufrice 
in 1 601 5 and concerning him and others, whofe families were 
enriched by abbey lands, in "the well countrie," the old couplet 
may here be quoted : 

M Popham. Horner , and T/tynne, 
When the monks popped out they popp'd in." 



44 Wore eft er Seels. 

catchpoles brake into quiet men's houfes when 
they were afleep, and not onlye carryed awaye 
their perfons into prifons, at their pleafure, except 
they would brybe themfelves exceffively, but 
whatever lyked them beft befydes in the houfe, 
eyther of bookes, cuppes, chalyces, or other 
furniture that might anywayes feeme or be appre- 
hended to belong to religion, was taken for a 
prey and feized on ; " and he mentions a Mrs. 
Shelley^ " a gentlewoman of good worfhippe, 
being cafte into the common jayle at Worcefter, 
for that the prieft, M. HaJJells^ was found in 
her houfe." 

Churchwardens and conftables were now 
ordered to prefent, at Seffions once a year, the 
names of all Catholics, their children and fer- 
vants ; and any Catholic once convicted of not 
attending the parifh church was to forfeit 20/. 
a month for his whole life, and the King was 
empowered to feize two-thirds of his property ; 
every Catholic was alfo forbidden to go more 
than five miles from his houfe without permiffion 
of a Juftice or a Bifhop. The oath of allegiance 
and fupremacy was tendered to all fufpe£ted refi- 
dents and travellers, and if they refufed to take 
it the confequence was imprifonment and prae- 
munire. One ray of funfhine was fhed on the 
poor Catholics when James was endeavouring to 
fecure for his fon Charles the hand of the Spanish 



Catholics. 45 

Infanta, the Spaniards demanding as a provifo 
to the marriage that the penal laws mould not be 
enforced ; but when the match was broken off, 
the laws were again let loofe. Charles^ however, 
married another Catholic lady — Henrietta of 
France , and then as much toleration as the 
Englijh Parliament and people would permit was 
allowed. At that time there were five Jefuit 
miffioners in the JVorcefterfhire diftrict. 

In 1622, Father Blount^ then Vice-Provincial, 
erected Jefuits' Colleges in England^ including, 
foon after, that of St George 3 s for Worcefter and 
Warwick. In 1623, England was ere£ted into 
a province, and Father Blount was appointed 
Firft Provincial. Worcefter^ I believe, was 
called a " refidence," being a ftation over which 
there was no fuperior, the miffioner at a refidence 
differing in this refpect from the miffioner at a 
college, who had a local fuperior. Thefe refi- 
dences had not neceffariiy the means of fupport 
within themfelves, but their independence of a 
local re£tor was the great diftincHon of, and gave 
importance to, the refidence. 

Father Anderfon (from Norfolk) laboured in 
this million with great fuccefs, and was inftru- 
mental in the conversion of the daughter of the 
Bifhop of Worcefter ■,* about the year 1630. 

* Bifhop John I'kornborough^ who is defcribed as an accompliihed 
man, and a writer on the philofopher's Rone. 



46 Wore eft er Sefis. 

More^ in his Latin hiftory previoufly quoted, 
gives an interefting account of the circumftances 
of this Bifhop's family : 

u The then falfe Bifhop of Worcefter had a large 
offspring, which he had taken care to bring up 
diligently from their cradles in the same herefy as 
himfelf ; but indeed by the goodnefs of God, one 
of his daughters having embraced the Catholic 
faith, was an example to many of piety and con- 
ftancy. Her eldeft brother — a man immerfed in 
the filth of all wickednefs — had come to extremi- 
ties, from the effe£ts of a dangerous difeafe ; 
and being touched by either true or feigned reli- 
gious motives, fpoke to his fifter, who was anxious 
about his health, and befought her more than 
once that me would fend for a prieft, he vehe- 
mently arTerting that he defired to die as a Catho- 
lic. Accordingly, left fo neceffary a thing ihould 
be wanting to her brother in his danger, fhe called 
one of our priefts, who having received the con- 
feffion of a whole life, refrefhed the fick man with 
the heavenly bread ; a fecond time he returned 
to ftrengthen the neophyte by the fame facra- 
ments. He is afked a third time to come ; but 
in the meantime the unhappy man had difcovered 
to his parent what had been going on. A fnare 
was laid, and the prieft {William Anderfon\ was 
caught. On being brought before the Bifhop, 
and an oath which they called the c oath of 
fidelity 9 being refufed, he was put into clofe 
confinement (in a loathfome dungeon). Mean- 
while the fick man, like a wretched deferter, foon 
fuffered a moft unhappy death, being never heard 



Catholics. 47 

to name God except when he violated that molt 
facred name by his facrilegious oaths, but ufed to 
cry out that an evil devil was {landing by him 
with horrid form and afpect, and he alfo heard the 
prieft upbraiding him with his wickednefs and 
the injury he had done him. The prieft being 
removed to London^ at length by favour of the 
Queen obtaining his freedom, he fpent fome 
more years in the fame work, and clofed his days 
(1657) at St. Orner^s, where he had received his 
early education." 

About the year 1630, Father Edward Silifdon 
affifted in the Catholic million at Worcefter. He 
was born in Suffolk in 1594, and became fuperior 
of the Worcefterjhire million \ obiit January 3, 
1659. There were faid to be not lefs than one 
thoufand miffionaries in England m the year 1634, 
and as they died their places were readily fuppiied 
from foreign colleges eftablifhed for the purpofe. 
In the laft-named year, Edward Knott publiftied 
at St. Omer's 2l work entitled Mercy and Truths 
or Charity maintained by Catholics ; by way of 
Reply upon an Anfwer lately framed by Dr. P otter ^ 
Dean of TVorcefter, to a Treatife which had formerly 
proved that Charity was miftaken by Proteftants^ 
with the want whereof Catholics are unjuftly 
charged for affirming that Proteftancy unrepented 
deftroys fahation. The national jealoufy againft 
Popery was now greatly on the increafe, and 
in the Tozvnfend MSS. is a parliamentary order, 



48 Worcester Seels. 

figned, "Littilton" London, 18th November, 
1641, to the following effeft : 

u To his loving friends, the Sheriff, Deputy- 
Lieutenants, and Juftices of the Peace within 
the County of Worcefter : Whereas there hath 
notice been given to the Parliament that the 
Popifh recufants have appointed a day to affemble 
themfeives, being the 18th day of this inftant 
November, within certain counties of this king- 
dom, whereof your county is one, which may 
tend to the great difturbance of the peace of this 
kingdom, thefe are, therefore, in His Majefty's 
name and by authority of Parliament to will and 
require you, the Sheriffs and Deputy-Lieutenants, 
Juftices of the Peace, and all other officers of the 
feveral counties, to look carefully that no fuch 
unlawful affemblies fhall be ; and to require you 
to fupprefs fuch affemblies or meetings by the 
force of the countie or otherwife, as you will 
anfwer it to the contrary." 

In Auguft, 1642, the Worcefter County Grand 
Jury made a declaration to defend the Proteftant 
religion againft Popifh recufants and others ; and 
in the following month the trained foldiers and 
commoners of the city entreated the mayor and 
chamber cc to take order that no Papifts or recu- 
fants be fuffered to take houfes nor be refident 
within the city ; " in obedience to which requeft 
Mr. Mayor granted " that the Lord Lovelace and 
one Mr. Stanford, who are by the commons 
declared to be delinquents and Papifts, fhould be 



Catholics, 49 

required fpeedily to depart the city ; and if they 
do not upon fuch requeft depart, they fhall by 
lawful means be enforced thereunto." 

When the Puritans prevailed in Parliament, at 
the period verging on the Commonwealth, all 
fe£ts united in denouncing the Catholics. In 
1643, fequeftrators were appointed for the feveral 
counties, whofe duty was, among others, to feize 
and confifcate two parts out of three of the 
eftates of all Papifts, for the ufe of the Parlia- 
ment ; and the State Paper Office contains feveral 
hundred volumes of names of the fufferers. Pref- 
byterian fervices now fupplanted thofe of the 
Anglican Church, and for fome years that party 
fhared with the Independents and Baptifts the 
ufe of our cathedrals and parifh churches, where 
their fermons were regulated by the hour glafs, 
relics of which ftill remain at ShelJIey and elfe- 
where in this county. More and more fevere 
were now the perfecutions of the Catholics, and 
intenfe the feeling excited againft them. Dr. 
Prattenton, in his MS. collections for Worcefter- 
jhire, quotes a diary in which it is faid that 
Charles Price, who had been an a£tive man in 
raifing forces for the King in Wales, was ftabbed 
at Worcefter, January 30, 1645, " for mowing 
fome difcontent that Papifts were received into 
greateft favour and Proteftants thruft out of 
office/' And in December of the fame year 



50 Wore eft er Seels. 

a Proteftant aflbciation which had been formed in 
the north-weft part of the county of Worcefter 
among other regulations directed " that in 
all our meetings and general rendezvous all 
Papifts, or other perfons adhering to or holding 
intelligence with Papifts, be excluded the field 
and lift of our communication ; and if they 
or any of them fhall offer to intrude on our 
affemblies at fuch meetings, and after warning 
given will not feverally depart, that then they 
mall be difarmed, and the arms fo taken from 
them fhall be delivered to the conftable of 
each particular parifh refpectively where fuch 
perfon fo difarmed doth dwell, to be kept for 
His Majefty's fervice when occafion fhall be to 
make ufe of them. And no Papifts, or others 
holding intelligence with them, to receive the 
benefit of public protection. All foldiers to be 
firft billeted at their houfes, and no horfes or 
teams to be taken till all theirs are gone ; and all 
fuch perfons are to be impreffed into His Majefty's 
fervice fo far as defirable." Cromwell ordered 
all priefts to quit the kingdom on pain of death, 
and all Cavaliers and Catholics were to go twenty 
miles from the metropolis. The Protector alfo 
placed over the militia diftricts officers (Major 
General Berry being affigned to the counties of 
Worcefter \ Hereford, Salop, and North Wales) 
who, among other things, were to take care that 



Catholics. 51 

Papifts and disaffe&ed perfons fhould be deprived 
of their arms ; the principal allegation then 
made againft the Catholics being, that they had 
arrayed themfelves under the unfortunate banner 
of the miferable Stuarts — an a£t which was 
rewarded by the fecond Charles^ when he came 
to the throne, by ordering all Jefuits and priefts 
to quit the kingdom. Neverthelefs, that notable 
monarch was wont to fay that " the only religion 
for a gentleman was Catholicifm " — an opinion 
he had probably arrived at from the circum- 
ftance that although he had fallen into the hands 
of about ninety Catholics in fucceflion after his 
fatal defeat at Worcefter he was not betrayed by 
any one of them ; and when the circumftances 
of his death are taken into account, it will be 
readily believed that his lack of toleration for 
the Catholics was occafioned more by the cc pref- 
sure from without " than by any other caufe, it 
feeming extremely improbable that he pofTefled 
a true regard for any form of religion, but only 
that kind of diftant refpedt for Catholicifm which 
fhould "make his mind eafy" in his latter mo- 
ments. The growth of Popery during this reign, 
however, was fo apparent, notwithftanding the 
great fire of London had raifed a loud outcry againft 
Catholics, that the Houfe of Commons, in an 
addrefs to the throne in 1670, complained among 
other things that " the Papifts in Torkjhire com- 



52 Worcefter Seels. 

monly rang a bell to call the people to mafs." Still 
no public chapels had yet ventured to make their 
appearance : the Mitre Tavern at Oxford, and 
private houfes at Worcefter, Wolverhampton, and 
other places, were then ufed regularly for mafs , 
and at the Coombe, in Hereford/hire, was a frater- 
nity of Popifh priefts. 

The utmoft vigilance was, however, ufed at 
this period by the Proteftants, both in Church 
and State, to unmafk their religious opponents, 
an inftance of which is fhown in the articles of 
vifitation exhibited to minifters, churchwardens, 
&c, in 1662, one of the inquiries put to thofe 
officers being the following : " Are there any 
convi£ted Papifts, known Anabaptifts, Familifts, 
Quakers, and other feparatifts, in your parifh ? " 

In the year 1678, Father Befwick, alias San- 
ders, was prieft at Worcefter, and after thirty-two 
years of miffionary labour he died here in March, 
1680, at the age of fixty-one. 

Titus Oates's famous difcovery of a plot to 
eftablifli the Pope in the government of this 
country was no doubt an impudent fi£Hon at the 
expenfe of the Catholics, defigned to work up 
the nation into fury. Oates himfelf was a Angu- 
lar exemplification of the mutability of human 
fortunes: penfioned by Charles //with 1,200/. 
a year, he was imprifoned, whipped, and pilloried 
by James, awarded the more moderate allowance 



Catholics. 53 

of 400/. per annum by "the deteftable Dutch- 
man," as William III has been denominated, and 
finally died at an advanced age. His pretended 
difclofures had the effe£t of hurrying a multitude 
of Catholics to prifbn and the fcaflbld. Priefts 
were again executed for the mere fact of being 
priefts, as was the cafe with Father Wall, a 
Francifcan, who was put to death at Worcefter, 
and his body laid in St. OfwalcFs burying-ground, 
Auguft 22, 1679, ^ Q f ame day on which Father 
Kemble, or Campbell, fuffered in a fimilar manner 
at Hereford. 

From a narrative written by himfelf, and pre- 
ferved among the records of the Englijh Francif- 
cans at Douay, it appears that John Wall, alias 
Francis Johnfon, was born of a good family in 
Lancajhire, in 1620, had a good eftate of 500/. a 
year, which he abandoned for the fake of religion ; 
ftudied at the Englijh College of Douay, and at 
thirty-two years of age took the habit of St. 
Francis. In 1656 he was fent to the Englijh 
miffion, his refidence being in Wore eft erjhire, 
where he was fometime known by the name of 
Webb, and was efteemed a laborious miffioner. 
He was in London when the King's proclamation 
came forth (after Titus Oaies's plot), commanding 
all Catholics to depart from thence by the Friday 
following ; he obeyed, and came to a friend's 
houfe in Wore eft erjhire^ not intending to ftay there ; 



54 Worcefter Sefts. 

but the King's fecond proclamation being pre- 
fently publifhed, that no Catholic mould walk 
above five miles without being flopped and carried 
before a Juftice to have the oaths tendered, he 
took counfel of both Proteftants and Catholics, 
and concluded it wifer to ftay. The Sheriff's 
deputy came to the houfe where he was, with fix 
or eight men, to arreft a gentleman for debt, and 
not finding him, broke down the doors, and among 
them the unfortunate prieft's, before he was out 
of bed, and by miftake arretted him. On being 
taken before a Juftice, the wife of the latter had 
a private interview with the prifoner, ufing her 
beft perfuafion to make him take the oaths \ but 
he, thanking her, faid he was not moved by fear 
or danger. Subfequently he was taken before 
Sir John Pakington^ who afked him who he was, 
to which he replied that he had been in Worcefter- 
Jhire for twenty years and was well known ; he 
declined to take the oaths, though he declared that 
he ever had been and would be a good fubject. 
Sir John Pakington and Mr. Townfend committed 
him (Dec, 1678) for trial, previous to which he 
was in Worcefter Caftle (the old gaol) for five 
months. What he fufFered here, and with what 
difpofition of mind, may be gathered beft from 
his own words : 

" Imprifonment (fays he) in thefe times efpeci- 



Catholics, 55 

ally, when none can fend to their friends, nor 
friends come to them, is the beft means to teach 
us how to put our confidence in God alone in all 
things ; and then He will make His promife good, 
that all things shall be added to us {Luke xii) ; 
which chapter, if every one would read and make 
good use of, a prifon would be better than a palace, 
and a confinement for religion and a good con- 
fcience fake more pleafant than all the liberties 
the world could afford. " 

He was brought upon his trial at Worcefter, 
April 25, 1679, before Judge Atkins^ upon an 
indictment of high treason, for being a prieft and 
remaining in this realm contrary to the ftatute of 
Elizabeth 27. He would neither confefs nor 
deny his priefthood, but defended himfelf very 
prudently. There was only one witnefs that 
voluntarily appeared againft him [Rogers by 
name, who did fo for lucre fake, and who fwore 
that he had received the facrament at the prieft' s 
hands, although it was mown that he had never 
feen the prieft till the latter was in gaol), and 
three others that came by compulfion - y however, 
the jury found him guilty of the indictment, and 
the Judge pronounced fentence againft him in 
the ufual form, as in cafes of high treafon. Upon 
which the prieft made a bow, and faid aloud, 
" Thanks be to God ; God fave the King ; and I 
befeech God to blefs your Lordfhip and all this 
honourable Bench." The Judge replied, " You 



5 6 Wore eft er Sefts. 

have fpoken very well ; I do not intend you 
(hall die, at leaft not for the prefent, until I know 
the King's further pleafure." He then continues 
his narrative : 

cc After the Judge was gone from the bench, 
feveral Protectant gentlemen and others who had 
heard my trial came to me, though ftrangers, and 
told me how forry they were for me ; to whom 
with thanks I replied, that I was troubled they 
mould grieve for me or my condition, who was 
joyful for it myfelf \ for I told them I had pro- 
feffed this faith and religion all my lifetime, 
which I was as fure to be true as I was fure of the 
truth of God's word, on which it was grounded, 

6 * * and I was as ready, by God's grace, to 
die to-morrow, as I had been to receive the Sen- 
tence of death to-day, and as willingly as if I had 
a grant of the greateft dukedom." 

Before the Judge left Worcefter, a petition was 
prefented to him from Father Wall^ acquainting 
him that he (the prifoner) had had the honour of 
killing the King's hand before his Refioration, 
when in the Low Countries ; and his Majefty had 
promifed him and others that when he was 
reftored to the crown they mould not live in 
baniftiment. The Judge promifed to deliver the 
petition, but it was thought he never did. Father 
Wall was returned to prifon, and after fome time 
was fent for up to London^ as were alfo feveral 
other priefts who were under condemnation. 



Catholics, 57 

They were all ftricily examined ; Father Wall 
was declared by his examiner (Mr. Bedloe) to be 
innocent and free from all plots whatever, and he 
was told that if he would but comply in matters 
of religion, for all he was condemned, he mould 
not die. To which the father replied, that he 
would not buy life at fo dear a rate as to wrong 
his confcience. At length, after four months had 
parTed from his condemnation, he was ordered to 
be executed -, and Father W. Levifon^ who vifited 
him in prifon, has given the following account 
of him in a letter preferved by the Englijh 
Francifcans : 

" Of late (fays he) I was defired, and willingly 
went, to vifit our friend Mr. Webb (Father Wall), 
prifoner at Worcefter, whofe execution drew near 
at hand. I came to him two days before it, and 
found him a cheerful fufferer of his prefent 
imprifonment, and ravifhed as it were with joy, 
with the future hopes of dying for fo good a 
caufe. I found, contrary to both his and my 
expectation, the favour of being with him alone ; 
and the day before his execution I enjoyed that 
privilege for the fpace of four or five hours 
together, during which time I heard his confef- 
fion, and communicated him to his great joy and 
fatis faction. I ventured likewife, through his 
defire, to be prefent at his execution, and placed 
myfelf boldly next the under-fheriff, near the 
gallows, where I had the opportunity of giving 
him the laft abfolution, juft as he was turned off 



58 Wore eft er Seels. 

the ladder. During his imprifonment he carried 
himfelf like a true fervant and difciple of his cruci- 
fied Mafter, thirfting after nothing more than the 
fhedding of his blood for the love of his God, 
which he performed with a courage and cheerful- 
nefs becoming a valiant foldier of Chrift, to the 
great edification of all Catholics and admiration 
of all Proteftants, the rational and moderate part 
efpecially, who mowed a great fenfe of forrow for 
his death, decrying the cruelty of putting men to 
death for priefthood and religion. He is the firft 
that ever fuffered at Worcefter finee the Catholic re- 
ligion entered this nation,* which he feemed with joy 
to tell me before his execution. He was quartered, 
and his head feparated from his body, according to 
his fentence. His body was permitted to be buried, 
and was accompanied by the Catholics of the 
town to St. Ofwald's churchyard, where he lies 
interred. His head I got privately and conveyed 
it to Mr. Randolph, who will be careful to keep 
it till opportunity ferves to tranfport it to Douay, 
&c. The miferies we here lie under are great, 
and I hope our brothers in fafety will be mindful 
of our condition in their beft thoughts, and beg of 
God we may cheerfully bear our croffes, and if it 
be His holy will, courageously facrifice our lives 
in defence of our religion, which is the earneft 
defire of, &c, William Levifon. Auguft 25, 1679." 

It was on the 22nd of Auguft that Father Wall 
was executed, and the fcene of the butchery was 
probably at Red Hill, about a mile out on the 

# How this miftake could have arifen, when Oldcorn was executed 
at Worcefter only feventy-three years before, I cannot imagine. 



• Catholics. 59 

London Road. His head was kept in the cloifter 
of the Englijh Friars at Douay ; and the Catholic 
writers declared that *for fome time afterwards, 
his grave, at St. Ofwald's burying-ground, ap- 
peared green, while the reft of the churchyard 
was all bare, it being then a conftant thoroughfare. 
Before his death, Father Wall compofed a long 
fpeech, which he delivered to a friend to be 
printed, in which he declares his faith, hope, and 
charity, together with his abhorrence of all plots 
and confpiracies. He implores God's mercy for 
himfelf, for the church, for king and kingdom, 
and for his perfecutors, whom he forgives, and 
afks pardon of all whom he might have offended ; 
and finally offers up his death to God and com- 
mends his foul into His hands. 

It feems that the poor prieft was interrupted 
in delivering his fpeech, u and that which he did 
fpeak, being taken by an unfkilful fcribe, was 
printed by halves, and fo imperfectly, that it was 
in fome places nonfenfe. To correct that abufe 
(fays his friend), this which he did fpeak is 
publifhed by a friend." 

I have infpected St. Ofwald's regifter, with the 
view of difcovering a memorial of Father TV all ^ 
but the records do not go fo far back, the older 
ones having been deftroyed. Red Hill feems to 
have been the place for the execution of religious 
and other offenders up to the beginning of the 



6o JVorcefter SeSfs. 

nineteenth century. I believe the laft execution 
there was on the 28th July, 1809, when Patrick 
Jordan and Thomas Brady were hung for robbing 
and beating Mr. C. Bayley, on Bromfgrove Lickey. 
There is, however, no record of this fa£t in the 
books of the County Gaol, for it appears that when 
Mr. Davies (predeceffor of the late Mr. Lavender) 
refigned the governorfhip of the prifon, he took 
away all the books and documents with him, and 
fold them as private property to Butler^ the then 
landlord of the Saracen's Head Inn, by whom 
they were converted into fpills for lighting pipes ! 

The Judge Atkins mentioned in the above trial 
was a native of Gloucejterjhire^ a Judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas during the reign of 
Charles 11^ and Lord Chief Baron after the 
Revolution ; he was an eminent and learned 
lawyer, much diftinguifhed for his attachment 
to popular rights, and for the uprightnefs and 
independence of his conduit during a period of 
judicial profligacy and fubferviency \ neverthelefs, 
from his language and conduct on the trials of 
the Jefuit priefts and other perfons charged with 
the Popim plot in 1679, he appears to have par- 
taken of the delufion which pervaded the country 
refpecting that tranfaction, and to have played his 
part in the difgraceful tragedies then enadted in 
Weftminfter Hall. 

As an inftance of the extreme jealoufy and 



Catholics, 6 1 

watchfulnefs exercifed over Papifts at this time, 
it may be ftated that Dame Mary Yate, a daugh- 
ter of the houfe of Pakington^ who is commemo- 
rated on a monument at Chaddsfley church, and 
who was then about feventy years old, being a 
Catholic, on applying for leave to pafs beyond the 
feas for the benefit of her health, obtained permif- 
fion only after being fenced round by a number of 
provifos and precautions, to the effe£t that the 
faid old lady fhould " give fecurity not to enter 
into any plott or confpiracy, and fhould not 
repaire to the cittie of Rome, or returne unto 
this kingdom, without firft acquainting one of 
His Majefty's principal Secretaries of State ;" and 
on this condition only was the faid dame " to 
imbarque with her trunkes of apparel and other 
neceftaries not prohibited at any porte of this 
kingdom, and from thence to pafs beyond the 
feas, provided that fhe depart this kingdom within 
fourteen dayes." Lady Mary was a ftaunch 
Catholic, and conveyed a large portion of her 
eftate, to the extent of fome 600/. a year, to 
Father Con/table, in truft for the benefit of the 
clergy at St. Omer's, and to pray for her own and 
her hufband's fouls, &c.' 

In the parifh books of St. Nicholas^ Wore eft er^ 
there is an entry, in 1679, "For a warrant to 
take the names of the Papifts, 6d." This was 
probably in confequence of the excitement fol- 



62 JVercefter Se&s. 

lowing the dilcovery of Titus Oates's plot. A 
fubfequent allufion to the Catholics occurs in 
the fame books many years afterwards, when it 
was u agreed that Papift Franks'* child be put 
on the roll," as though it had been a matter of 
grave deliberation firft. Probably this means 
that belonging to Popifh parents precluded chil- 
dren from the benefit of being put on the rolls 
for parochial relief, but that after lb me difcuffion 
this (ingle cafe [a preffing one of destitution, no 
doubt) was admitted. Again, in 1682 — u For 
paceboard for the excommunicated p'lbns, %d. " 
and in 16S3 — " charge of the excommunication, 
6/. IOJ." The above charges were probablv for 
a list of Catholics and others who had been ex- 
communicated in the Ecclefiaftical Court here, 
and which lift was fixed to the church door. 

James IPs acceflion to the throne gave the 
Catholics a brief refpite, of which the Pope took 
advantage by dividing England into four diocefes, 
with a Vicar Apoftolic to each. 

With the year 16S5 commences the regifter 
of baptifm of TVorcefter Catholics, which regifter 
is laid to be one of the oldeft exifting among 
Catholics in England. One of the earlieft 
entries in this little book is the following; : 



"John Gabriel was reconciled to ve Church 
the 6th of March, and having; received all ve 



Catholics. 63 

rites of ye Church, died ye next morning, but 
remained a week before he was buried, becaufe 
Parfon Pye had excommunicated him for being a 
Catholic, but at laft he was buried at Monmouth" 

Among the places named in this regifter as 
vifited by the priefts of this neighbourhood for 
the purpofe of adminiftering baptifm, and doubt- 
lefs, too, of offering up the mafs, are the follow- 
ing : Hindlip, Heighmeadow, Mrs. Gibbon's houfe, 
Mr. Thomas Gunter's, Chepftow Grange, Wollaf- 
ton Grange, Collier's, Dadmond's, Defborough's, 
Day's, Goodman's, Maunders, Writtle Park, Weft 
Grimftead, Bofcobel, &c. 

This fame year (the acceffion of James II) is 
believed to have been the date either of the erec- 
tion or adoption of an exifting houfe on a fite 
which is now the corner of Pierpoint Street, on 
the eaft fide of Foregate Street, as a chapel, or 
oratory, for the Catholics. Najh fays that the 
chapel was built in that year, and I find in Oli- 
ver's Biography of the Jefuits that Henry Hum- 
berton (alias Hall), who was declared Provincial 
in 1697 > and died 1708, preached a fermon at 
Worcefter in April, 1686, on the fecond Sunday 
after Eafter, no doubt in the newly-ere&ed 
chapel. When the King vifited Worcefter, in 
1687, a f ter attending at the Cathedral on the feaft 
of St. Bartholomew, to gratify fuch as offered 
themfelves to be touched for the king's evil, His 



64 Wore eft er Seels. 

Majefty went to hear mafs at the Popifh chapel, 
on which occafion the Mayor (fuppofed to be 
Shewring) won immortal praife from the hifto- 
rians of Worcefter for refusing to accompany the 
King any further than the doors of the chapel 5 
whereas the corporation records prove that his 
Worfhip and the grave and reverend Aldermen, 
his companions, preferred Proteftant guzzling to 
Catholic religious fervices, a charge of 2s. (equal 
to nearly 1/. of our prefent money) having been 
fubfequently made on the city funds for their 
drinking at the Green Dragon, an adjoining inn, 
during the time of mafs. When the King left 
the chapel, he returned to the Palace, where the 
good Bifhop Thomas had provided a princely 
dinner ; but the poor prelate had the mortifica- 
tion to hear a Romifh prieft ordered to invoke a 
bleffing, and his own offer to perform that part 
of his duty rejected by the King, who faid he 
would fpare him that trouble, for that he had a 
chaplain of his own. No doubt the poor Bifhop 
turned away with a tear in his eye and a finking 
in his heart at the forefight of coming troubles. 
Bifhop Thomas^ however, remained true to his 
unworthy matter ; for though he refufed to read 
and circulate the King's memorable declaration 
as to the fufpenfion of the penal laws againft 
nonconforming, in June, 1688, and for which he 
incurred the fevere difpleafure of the Court, he 



Catholics. 65 

fubfequently declined to take the oath of allegiance 
to William III, and actually vacated his fee rather 
than abandon that duty which he believed was 
owing to the unfortunate yames. But the fate of 
this wretched monarch was foon decided ; and at 
the Revolution of 1688, although King William 
allowed the unrepealed acts againft Catholics to 
fink partially into abeyance, he fubfequently pafTed 
an a£r. to prevent the growth of Popery, by which 
a reward of 100/. was offered for apprehending 
any prieft or Jefuit. 

To mow the fenfe of the people of Wore eft er, 
at the time of the landing of the Prince of 
Orange, it may be ftated that the Wore eft er Cor- 
poration then pafTed a refolution as follows : 

" We, the Mayor, Aldermen, Sheriff, Town 
Council, and citizens of the city of Worcefter, 
whofe names are fubferibed, do declare that to 
our utmoft endeavours in our feveral ftations 
and places we will aid and affift His Highnefs 
the Prince of Orange, and all thofe that fhall 
oppofe the defperate attempts and confpiracies of 
the Papifts and their adherents, and to the hazard 
of our lives will preferve His Majefty's moft 
facred perfon, uphold the Proteftant religion by 
law eftablifhed, and maintain the ancient liberties 
of this kingdom." 

Catholic chapels were now everywhere ruth- 
leflly deftroyed ; that at Wore eft er no doubt 



66 Wore eft er Seels. 

fharing the fame fate. Macaulay ftates that 
when the Dutch army was marching from Torbay 
towards London, in 1688, Sir E. Harley, of 
Brampton Brian, and his fon Robert (afterwards, 
as Earl of Oxford, Queen Anne *s minifter, and a 
high churchman), declared for the Prince of 
Orange and a free Parliament, raifed a large body 
of horfe, took poffeiTion of JVorcefter, and evinced 
their zeal againft Popery by publicly breaking to 
pieces, in the High Street, a piece of fculpture 
which to rigid precifians feemed idolatrous. 

But however relentleffly the Catholics were 
purfued at this period, no blood was fhed ; 
another ftep had been gained in the progrefs of 
religious liberty, and the ancient difputes now 
took a controverfial turn. Dr. Stlllingfleet, Bifhop 
of Worcefter, who is faid to have had " no equal in 
ecclefiaftical learning, was an elegant preacher and 
a mafterly difputant, exercifed himfelf in feveral 
noted controverfies, and with a reputation of advan- 
tage. He was a victorious combatant of Papifts, 
diftenters, and Socinians, and no unequal oppo- 
nent of the great Locke. He may be accounted 
the Bellarmine of the Church of England \" 

There were at that time in Worcefter province 
719 Papifts above the age of fixteen, the propor- 
tion of conformifts to nonconforming being nearly 
twenty-three to one, and of conformifts to Papifts 
179 to one. In the reign of fames II there 



Catholics. 67 

were Francifcans in Worcefter (as Father Water- 
worth informs me), but when they came, where 
they refided, or how long they remained, are 
queftions to which I can find no anfwer. 

About the period 170 1-4, Father RuJJell^ a 
Jefuit, was ferving in " St. George's refidence, 
Worcefter;" and in 1708, Father Bee/ton. The 
latter was educated at St. Omer's, made his 
folemn vows of religion in 1698, and was fent 
to the Worcefter miffion, but recalled in 1708 to 
Watton^ to fill the poft of mafter of the novices, 
and died at St. Omer*s in 1732. 

In the Georgian era the perfecution of the 
Catholics was continued. Walpole vifited u re- 
puted Papifts" with heavy taxes on their lands 
and eftates, and all Catholics were compelled, 
within fix months of their coming of age, to 
regifter their names and eftates with the Clerk 
of the Peace, otherwife their pofleffions were 
forfeited ; and as late as the year 1769 the Hon. 
James Talbot was tried for his life at the Old 
Bailey for faying mafs, and only efcaped through 
want of evidence. In thofe days, if a Catholic 
travelled by waggon or ftage coach he was wife 
if he held his tongue on religious matters, fo 
intenfe was ftill the national feeling againft 
Popery : the profcribed party were at the mercy 
of any one who wiftied to injure or infult them, 
and every neighbouring magiftrate was too willing 



68 Worcefter SeSfs. 

at a moment's notice to tender the oath fo ob- 
noxious to their feelings. The Teft and Corpo- 
ration Adts, too, had long excluded them from 
all offices. There are fome probably ftill living 
who remember the difficulties and privations 
with which the Catholics had to contend at the 
clofe of the laft century — how they were driven 
to have their chapels fecluded and to go to them 
in a circuitous way to avoid fufpicion : if their 
meeting houfe was in the country (as at Blackmoor 
Park^ near Malvern) it was a mere upper room, 
and a trufty watchman was ftationed near at hand 
to prevent the approach of fufpicious parties ; 
while in towns they often aflembled in ftables or 
public houfes under the guife of a club, and with 
pots of beer before them to miflead the domeftics, 
but when left to themfelves they would purfue 
their devotions. On the whole, however, Catho- 
lics breathed more freely than before, and were 
enabled to eftablifti fchools, one of which (by 
the BenediiHnes) was at Redmarley^ in this 
county, and another at Sedgley Park^ near Wol- 
verhampton^ in a manfion belonging to the Lord 
Dudley and Ward, In 1768, this eftablifhment 
was transferred to Dr. Hornyold^ Vicar Apoftolic 
of the Midland Diftridl ; he was a defcendant of 
the Horny olds of Hanley Ca/tle^znd having ftudied 
and received ordination at Douay } he entered 
upon his firft miffion at Grantham^ and foon 



Catholics. 69 

became remarkable for zeal and courage. Once, 
in the midft of a terrible ftorm, he was informed 
that one of his flock who lived at a diftance was 
in danger of death, whereupon he immediately 
fet out, and fwam his horfe through a river 
fwollen with the flood, to the imminent danger 
both of horfe and rider. On another occafion, 
a conftable coming to feize him as a Catholic 
prieft, juft when he was concluding mafs, barely 
fufficient time was allowed him to fave himfelf 
by fubftituting a female cap for his flowing peri- 
wig, and throwing a woman's cloak over his 
veftments ; in this difguife he placed himfelf in 
the corner of a room, and was paffed by unno- 
ticed. His diftridt extended from Yarmouth to 
the Malvern Hills and Weft Shrop/hire^ and from 
Barton-on-Humber and North Derby/hire to Oxford 
and Henley, Dr. Hornyold was afiiduous in 
vifiting every part of his charge ; he was an 
abftemious and a cheerful man \ obiit December, 

1778. 

The Jefuits who fucceeded Father Beefton at 
JVorcefter were William Baxter (real name Cafe\ 
Felix Bartlett^ and Richard Clough. The firft 
was a native of Lancajhire^ and joined the Society 
of jfefus in 1711. After many years' employ- 
ment in this million, Oliver fays, u he was called 
to receive his retribution at Worcefter, July 13th, 
1747, aged fifty-feven," This probably means 



70 JVorcefter Seels. 

nothing more than a natural death, for I find no 
trace of his having come to a violent end. 
Bartlett was born March 19th, 1708, probably 
at Worcefter, where his mother proved herfelf a 
generous friend of the Jefuits. At the age of 
eighteen he enrolled himfelf among the children 
of St. Ignatius, and in 1740 was elevated to the 
rank of a profefled father. Worcefter was his chief 
refidence, and here he ended his mortal career in 
1777. Richard Clough was born November 28th, 
1728, and at the age of fixteen dedicated himfelf 
to God in the Society of Jefuits ; nineteen years 
afterwards he was promoted to the rank of a 
pro fe fled father, and for a confiderable time (fays 
Oliver) he was " incumbent of Worcefter, where 
he built the late chapel." Dying here on the 
19th of January, 1777, his remains were depofited 
in St. OfwaWs cemetery. William Walmefley, 
another Jefuit father, who was born in Lancajhire 
in 1712, is faid to have died at Worcefter in 1769. 
In the baptifmal regifter before alluded to, 
diftincl: reference is made to the Catholic chapel 
at Worcefter on the 12th of March, 1749. 
Perhaps the chapel was ftill in Foregate Street, 
for mention is made of a baptifm in Foregate 
Street, at Mr. Berkeley's, in 1776, and probably 
the chapel was attached to Mr. Berkeley's houfe ; 
yet all the local hiftorians and guide books fay 
that the Catholics had a chapel on the fite of the 



Catholics. 71 

prefent building in " Sanfome Row," or, as it 
was fometimes defcribed, " Sanfome Fields," 
ever fince the year 1764. That chapel was, no 
doubt, the one erected by Father Clough (as 
mentioned above), the former chapel at Mr. 
Berkeley's houfe ftill remaining as a private 
oratory. 

Thomas Sanders fucceeded Richard Clough, and 
died at Worcefter, November, 1790 ; he was 
aflifted by one TVharton (coufm to Archbifhop 
Carroll), who feceded to the Proteftant Church 
and went to America. During the incumbency 
of Sanders, too, Father Bernard Crofs died at 
Worcefter, in 1 785 ; he was born at Teneriffe in 
1 7 15, and on his twenty-fecond birthday confe- 
crated himfelf to God in the Society of Jefuits \ 
he was admitted to the " profeffion of the four 
vows" on the Feaft of the Affumption, 1755; 
for fome time he exercifed his miffionary func- 
tions at Vera Cruz, and was for feveral years fta- 
tioned in London before his coming to Worcefter. 

All this while the fpirit of perfecution flept 
not, until the profpect of the dangers of the 
American war rendered it neceflary to confult the 
goodwill and patriotifm of all feels : then the 
Catholics were indulged (in 1778) by a repeal of 
moft of their fevereft difabilities. Proteftant 
apprehenfion, however, became greatly aroufed 
by this leniency, and JVeJley is accufed of having 



72 Worcefter Sects. 

" hounded on M the popular cry againil the 
Catholics ; the Lord George Gordon riots enfued, 
and after that event a large portion of the 
Catholic party wavered in their lubmiffion to 
Rome, fought favour of the Protectants and thole 
in power, and many went over to the well- 
endowed eftablifhment. Billinge, the chaplain 
at Mofeley, and Wharton (before -mentioned), 
who was ferving the million at JVorcefter, were 
faid to have been among: theie worldly-minded : 
both were fuccefsful muficians, became fond of 
company, who applauded their performances, 
and both fell. Bi Hinge, on the laft Sunday on 
which he faid mafs, told his people at Ma V, 
that if they faw anything ftrange in him they 
mould remember what he had taught them but 
not follow his example. Thev underftood the 
meaning of this when they heard, on the next 
Sunday, that he had publicly apoftatiied \ he 
afterwards married, and held the living of JVo?n- 
bourn. This is the account which Catholic 
writers give of thefe two men. 

With regard to Wharton^ I find that he be- 
came a Protectant about the year 1779, anc ^ 
refided, until 1784, in the houfe attached to the 
Catholic chapel in Sanfome Fields. He left this 
country for America, where, on his arrival, he 
publifhed A Letter to the Roman Catholics of 
Worcefter, from the late Chaplain to that Society , 



Catholics, 73 

C, H, Wharton, ftating the motives which had 
induced him to relinquifh their communion and 
become a member of the Proteftant Church, 
denying the infallibility of Pope or Church, 
afferting the right of private judgment, oppofing 
celibacy, &c. This pamphlet (which I have 
feen in the Britijh Mufeum) was anfwered by 
Mr. Wharton's coufin, Archbifhop Carroll, and 
gave rife to confiderable controverfy, carried on 
in print. The Rev. Arthur Vaughan, fuccefTor 
to Rev. Charles Dodd, as Catholic prieft at 
Harvington, in this county, publifhed The Ghoft 
of Sanfome Fields, on occafion of Mr, Wharton's 
abandoning his Flock at Worcefter ; and Mr. 
John Hawkins, who alfo conformed to the 
Proteftant Church in 1779 fr° m having been 
a monk, and foon afterwards married the eldeft 
daughter of R, Burney, Efq., of Barbourne 
Lodge, alfo publifhed two works 1 I* A Letter 
from a Catholic Chriftian to his Roman Catholic 
Friend, ftating the Reafonfor his Relinqui/hing the 
Communion of the Church of Rome ; Worcefter, 
1780 ; and 2. An EJfay on the Law of Celibacy 
imp of ed on the Clergy of the Roman Catholic Church, 
interfperfed with various remarks upon fever al other 
parts of their difcipline ; alfo a few remarks on 
Mr, Carrol? s Anfwer to the Roman Catholics of 
the United States of America, occafioned by Mr, 
Wharton's Letter, in which he had ftated his 



74 Worcefter Sec:;. 

Reafons for Relinquijhing the Communion of the 
Church of Rome ; 1784-5, \sJbd.:" and other 
works. 

In the year 179 1 a bill was paffed repealing 
various ftatutes and tolerating the fchools and the 
religious worfhip of Catholics ; and in the fame 
year I find that Robert Berkeley of Sfeti 
T. Horny old the younger of Blacknioor P .:■>■'-., 
John Baynham of Purjhall Hall, clerk, Thomas 
Parker of Heath Green, Beoley, and Mary Wil- 
liams of Little Malvern, fubfcribed certificates 
that they had fet apart rooms in their refpective 
houfes for Roman Catholic worfhip. In 1796, 
Andrew Robinfon, clerk, of Grafton Manor, and 
Richard Cornthwaite, clerk, of Harvington Hall, 
Chaddefey, fet apart rooms for the fame purpofe. 

Eight thoufand exiled priefts were driven into 
England by the great French Revolution ; and 
though moil: of them returned in the following 
year, in confequence of Pius VII treating with 
Napoleon, thoie who remained here denounced 
the Pope's arrangement as fchifmatical, and a 
ferious divifion took place in the Catholic part}'. 
Pius became Napoleon's captive, and did not 
regain his liberty till the year 1814, when it was 
actually to the Proteftant bayonets of the Britijb 
troops that His Holinefs owed his protection 
at Genoa, when the Emperor efcaped from Elba. 
All this while the Britijh Parliament had been 



Catholics. 75 

entertaining bills for the emancipation of the 
Catholics and for eftablifhing a Proteftant veto 
on their appointment of bifhops. Then it was 
that Sydney Smith launched his famous invectives 
againft the penal ftatutes, as being the moft 
cruel and atrocious fyftem of perfecution ever 
inftituted by one religious body againft another ; 
and this paved the way for the relief of 1829. 

During the French Revolution, and up to the 
period of the emancipation, the names of Jefuits 
and priefts ftationed at Worcefter vt^e, — Wil- 
liams^ Morris^ Robin/on, Norris^ Triftram^ Lead- 
better^ and SewelL Jofeph IVilliams (whofe 
family name was Gittings) was born in 1744, 
admitted a Jefuit in 1762, died at Worcefter on 
Lady Day, 1797, and was buried at St. Ofwald*s. 
"John Morris was born in Lancajhire in 1770. 
Soon after his receiving holy orders his fervices 
were beftowed on the Worcefter million, where 
he arrived for the Eafter of 1797. 

" Here (fays Oliver) this zealous and moft 
difinterefted man deferved to be regarded as the 
father of the poor. Naturally bafhful and retired, 
yet in the circle of his immediate acquaintance 
his converfation abounded with information, and 
was enlivened and enriched with fprightly humour 
and anecdote. It pleafed Almighty God to purify 
his fervant by a long and painful illnefs, which he 
endured with edifying patience, refignation, and 
fortitude. He was releafed from his fufferings 



76 Wore eft er SeSfs. 

about four p.m. on Sunday, 3rd of October, 1830, 
and was buried in the cemetery of the new 
chapel." 

Andrew Robinfon was born in York/hire in 174I5 
admitted to the Society of Jefuits in 1763, and 
after ferving the Englijh miffion for nearly fixty 
years, he clofed his lengthened career at Worcefter^ 
in February, 1826. N. Sewell was born in 1745 
in Maryland^ became a Jefuit in 1766, and in 1821 
was Provincial, but refigning his office five or fix 
years afterwards, he proceeded to JVorcefter, to 
affift his valued friend, Rev. Jofeph Triftram r and 
had the comfort of feeing a new, large, and hand- 
fome chapel opened in this city on the 16th of 
July, 1829. He died on the 14th of March, 
1834, at the patriarchal age of eighty-nine, and 
was buried in the cemetery adjoining the chapel. 

The year 1829 muft have afforded a great 
triumph to the Catholics, efpecially of Worcefter^ 
in witneffing the fuccefs of the Emancipation Bill 
and the eredtion of their new chapel. The 
"Right Rev. Dr. Walfh, Vicar Apoftolic of the 
Midland Diftrict," officiated at the opening cere- 
monies, affifted by the Very Rev. Dr. Weedall^ 
Prefident of Of cot College, the Rev. Mr. Morgan^ 
Sub-Deacon, and numerous of the Catholic 
clergy. Grand high mafs was celebrated, and 
Dr. Weedall preached in defence of the ordinance 
of the mafs and the doftrine of the real prefence, 



Catholics. 77 

his text being — u Chrift our paffover is facrificed 
for us." In the afternoon the Rev. Prelate 
addrefled the congregation from the altar, explain- 
ing fome of the fundamental doctrines of the 
Church of Rome^ and difavowing many of the 
obnoxious tenets attributed to its profeflbrs by 
thofe who diffented from her precepts, efpecially 
thofe relating to the keeping faith with heretics. 
The fum of 48/. was collected. 

Before the Catholic relief meafure was paffed, 
a great ftruggle took place throughout the country, 
in which Wore eft erfhire fully participated. An 
addrefs to the King and petitions againft Catholic 
emancipation, agreed upon at a meeting at the 
Worcefter Guildhall, were each figned by upwards 
of 6000 perfons ; and in the Dudley petition 
the column of fignatures meafured 230 feet. Of 
thefe fignatures three were actually thofe of Catho- 
lics, the writers obferving — "We have liberty 
enough already, and thofe who want more want 
it for no good." By the Emancipation Bill, 
Catholics were ftill forbidden to affume the title 
of Proteftant fees ; all Jefuits and monaftic orders 
were to be fuppreffed, and numerous penalties 
were allowed to remain on the ftatute book ; yet 
nearly all thefe have become obfolete. The 
Oxford tractarian movement is the next feature 
to be noticed in connection with the progrefs of 
Catholicifm : Ward^ Pufey^ and Newman^ did 



78 Wore eft er Seels. 

their work, and the Romifh Church reaped a 
rich harveft. In the year 1840 the Vicars Apos- 
tolic in England were increafed from four to 
eight, as a preparation for a further change, 
namely, the reftoration of the hierarchy \ and 
after much heat and diffenfion among the people, 
this ftep was achieved in 1850, when the whole 
kingdom, together with Wales, was formed into 
a province, containing one metropolitan fee of 
Weftminjter and twelve fuffragan fees. 

The names of the Jefuits and priefts who have 
been located at Worcefter fince the opening of the 
new chapel in 1829 are — Poftlewhite, Rigby, 
Brownbill, McClune, C. Lomax, Chadwick, W. 
Lomax, farrett, Bee/ton, Bateman, Corr, Swale, 
Holden, Bird, Laurenfon, Cooper, F. Jarrett, W. 
Waterworth, and Meagher, the two latter being 
the priefts now (i860) in refidence here. 

Among the Jefuits and other Catholics (not 
mentioned in the foregoing account) connected 
with the city and county of Worcefter were — 
Francis Toung of Wore eft erfhire, who, quitting 
Oxford, entered the Englifh College at Rome in 
1598. He is defcribed as "a good controverfial 
father." Richard Briftow was born at Worcefter 
and educated at Oxford, where he and Campion 
entertained Queen Elizabeth with a public difpu- 
tation, and acquitted themfelves fo as to gain much 
applaufe. He fhortly afterwards conformed to the 



Catholics. 79 

Church of Rome, and was invited by the famous 
Allen, afterwards Cardinal, to Douay, where he 
diftinguifhed himfelf in the Englijh College, as 
he alfo did fubfequently at Rheims. Br if tow is 
faid to have " rivalled Allen in prudence, Stapleton 
in acutenefs, Campion in eloquence, Wright in 
theology, and Martin in languages." His death 
was occafioned by fevere application to his ftudies. 
William Morton, born in Worcefterjhire in 1597, 
admitted among the Jefuits at the age of thirty- 
three, and is thus defcribed — " Juvat noftros in 
Anglia multiplici minifterio ;" obiit 1667. "John 
Harrifon, born in Wore eft er/h ire in i6i5,and died 
at the age of fixty-three. John Mace, a " tempo- 
ral coadjutor," was alfo a native of Worcefterjhire ; 
he died at Rome 14th September, 1689, aged 
fixty-nine. James Lane, born in Worcefterjhire in 
1737, admitted a Jefuit at the age of twenty-one, 
and patted through his ftudies with diftinguifhed 
honours ; he refided at Norwich for half a century, 
and died in 1821, Laftly, Clement Weetman, 
born in Staffbrdjhire in 1781, and taking upon 
himfelf the Grafton miffion, died at Worcefter in 
18 13, and was buried at St. Ofwald's. 

The number of Jefuits in this province at 
prefent (i860) is fuppofed to be about 260 ; of 
thefe, however, only one-half are yet priefts. 
The Worcefter congregation of Catholics number 
nearly 1500, but many of thefe live out of the 
city, and many are Irijh. 



8o Worcefter Sefts. 

It will thus be feen how this profcribed church 
panned through the fiery ordeal which they had 
for fo lengthened a period adminiftered to others, 
and how they gradually emerged from their op- 
prefled condition to breathe with fomething of 
the freedom enjoyed by their fellow creatures. 
The rancour of the national hatred feems at 
length to have died out, and left the work of 
converfion to be effected by argument and holy 
example rather than by the faggot or the gallows. 
Even fo let it be; for, as the author of The Ingle 
Nook obferves, " The humble, the meek, the 
merciful, the juft, the pious, and the devout, are 
everywhere of one religion; and when Death 
has taken off the mafk they will know one 
another, though the liveries they wear here 
make them ftrangers." 



Independents, or Congregationalifts. 



" Yet thefe are the men cried out againft for fchifmatics and 
fedlaries, as if, while the temple of the Lord was building, fome 
cutting, fome fquaring the marble, others hewing the cedars, there 
fhould be a fort of irrational men, who could not coniider there 
muft be many schifms and many diffeclions made in the quarry 
and in the timber ere the houfe of God can be built. And when 
every ftone is laid artfully together, it cannot be united into a 
continuity, it can be but contiguous in this world ; neither can every 
piece of the building be of one form \ nay, rather the perfection 
confifts in this, that out of many moderate varieties and brotherly 
difTimilitudes that are not vaftly difproportional, arifes the goodly 
and the graceful fymmetry that commends the whole pile and 
ftruc"hJre. ,, — Milton. 



UEEN Elizabeth, by her A# of 
Uniformity, and James, by his 
mockery of a conference at Hamp- 
ton Court, occafioned the two great 
feceffions of the Puritan party from 
the Church of England, whofe canons then for 
the firfl: time placed them under the ban of 
excommunication and " abandoned them to the 
wrath of God." For a long time they had 
denounced the furplice and other clerical gar- 
ments, as the " laft rags of Rome" and now that 
the King and Bancroft would force upon them 




82 Worcefter Sefts. 

the Books of Canons and Common Prayer^ with 
fome ceremonies to which they ftrongly objected, 
a feparation took place. Blunt^ in his Hiftory of 
the Reformation^ remarks — 

u It feems a Arrange thing to us that men 
fhould have been found ready to make fhipwreck 
of charity, and to rifk the Reformation altogether 
(for the Roman Catholics were on the alert to 
profit by the divifion) upon matters fo unim- 
portant in themfelves as the colour or material of 
a coat, or that fuch precifians fhould have been 
met with as expected and required the a£tual 
warrant of Scripture for every trivial matter 
which they did throughout the day, to the utter 
extinction of Chriftian liberty." 

But furely the claims of a pious, earneft, and 
numerous body of religionifts are not to be 
difpofed of with a fneer. To juft and rea- 
fonable minds, indeed, the demands of the 
Puritans feem to have been fufficiently limited : 
they afked for a new and corre£t tranflation of 
the Bible ^ and increafed zeal in teaching its 
holy truths ; they required that lay impropri- 
ations fhould be made to maintain minifters in 
diftri&s where none had been previoufly lo- 
cated, and that thofe of the clergy who had an 
averfion to genuflexions, white furplices, and 
fuch-like things, fhould not be caft out of their 
parifhes, but allowed a little Chriftian liberty in 



Independents. 83 

matters fo non-eflential. Thefe were the prin- 
cipal claims advanced by that perfecuted band of 
men who were fo foon to experience the cruelty 
of other profeffing Chriftians, and many to feek 
for liberty, if not happinefs, on the ftrange fhores 
of the new world. 

No doubt at this time the Church loft many of 
her beft men \ but may we not herein trace the 
ringer of an overruling Providence ? For what 
reader of hiftory can now fail to perceive that 
the exiftence of fects in religion is as efTential to 
the mutual efficiency of themfelves and of the 
Eftablifhed Church as a ftrong and vigilant 
oppofition in Parliament is necefTary for the pro- 
fee ution of the national weal ? Many, however, 
of the more moderate clafs of nonconforming, 
without feceding from the Church communion, 
acknowledged the corruptions which they had 
not power to remedy, and earneftly fought every 
opportunity for their reform. " Before their 
departure for America (fays Wilson, in his Pil- 
grim Fathers), they drew up a letter, addreffed 
c to the reft of their brethren in and of the 
Church of England,' wherein they fay — 

" ( We defire you would be pleafed to take 
notice of the principals and body of our company, 
as thofe who efteem it our honour to call the 
Church of England, from whence we arife, our 
dear mother; and cannot part from our native 



84 Worcefter Setts. 

country, where me fpecially refideth, without 
much fadnefs of heart and many tears in our 
eyes; ever acknowledging that fuch hope and 
part as we have obtained in the common falvation 
we have received in her bofom, and fucked it 
from her breafts. We leave it not, therefore, as 
loathing that milk, wherewith we were nourifhed, 
but, blefling God for the parentage and education, 
as members of the fame body mail always rejoice 
in her good, and unfeignedly grieve for any for- 
row that fhall ever betide her; and while we 
have breath, fincerely defire and endeavour the 
continuance and abundance of her welfare, with 
the enlargement of her bounds in the kingdom of 
Chrijtjlfus:" 

The Prefbyterians were generally confidered 
the legitimate defendants of the Puritans ; and 
as the name Prefbyterian has been much mixed 
up with Independent, and the two feels con- 
founded together and miftaken for each other 
(efpecially at Worcefter, where, as will be feen in 
courfe of the following hiftory, the term Pref- 
byterian was frequently, though erroneoufly, 
applied to the Society of Independents, or Con- 
gregationalifts), it may be as well to ftate at the 
outfet the diftinguifhing difference between the 
two fe£ts. Prefbyterians recognife no office in 
the Church as fuperior to that of a prefbyter, 
believing that all ministers, being ambaffadors of 
Chrift, are equal by commiflion ; that prefoyter, 
or elder, or bimop, are only different names for 



Independents. 85 

the fame office; and that deacons are laymen 
whofe office is chiefly to take care of the poor. 
Their mode of church government is by pref- 
byteries, fynods, and general affemblies. The 
prefent Scottijh Kirk, founded by Knox^ about 
1560, is Prefbyterian, and the firft Prefbyterian 
congregation in England was formed at Wandf- 
worth^ near London^ in 1572. 

The Independents, or Congregationalifts, 
fprang up early in the feventeenth century, the 
firft church of that feci having been founded, in 
1 6 16, by Mr. Henry yacob^ a Kentijh man, who 
is faid to have been " moft excellently well read 
in theological authors, but withal a moft zealous 
Puritan," or, as his fon Henry ufed to fay, " the 
firft Independent in England" Mr. Robin/on is 
faid by fome to be the founder of this fociety. 
They were diftinguifhed from Prefbyterians and 
Baptifts chiefly by being oppofed to any union or 
government of the church, and by regarding each 
congregation of faithful men as independent of 
every other, and competent to its own govern- 
ment, without interference from Prefbyteries, 
bifhops, or from the ftate itfelf. Robert Brown^ 
a clergyman of the time of Elizabeth^ is alfo 
reputed to have been the firft perfon in England 
who adted upon thefe opinions. His followers 
did not differ from the Church of England fo 
much in articles of faith as in matters of difci- 



86 Worcefter Seels. 

pline, in which they were exceffively rigid. 
Brown, who was a man of violent paffions, 
everywhere inveighed againfl: the Churchy her 
ordinances, and facraments, and formed a feparate 
congregation on his own principles. At length, 
however, he renounced thefe views, and became 
re£tor of a church in Northampton/hire, and 
died in gaol, whither he had been committed for 
ftriking a conftable who had demanded a rate of 
him. He boafted that he had been committed 
to thirty-two prifons, in fome of which he could 
not fee his hand at noon-day ! The Indepen- 
dents, who are uniformly Calvinifts, may have 
originally fprung from the Brownifts, but they 
foon became a diftinft fe£t from the latter, who 
have long ceafed to exift — at all events as a 
body bearing that defignation — and both in the 
moderation of their fentiments and the order of 
their difcipline the Independents greatly excelled 
them. Dr. John Owen, Dr. Ifaac Waits, Dr. 
Doddridge, and Job Orton, were among the great 
men belonging to this fociety. Hume fays of the 
Independents — "But of all Chriftian k&§, this 
was the firft which, during its profperity, as well 
as its adverfity, always adopted the principles of 
toleration; and it is remarkable that fo reafon- 
able a doftrine owed its origin not to reafoning, 
but to the height of extravagance and fanaticifm." 
Neverthelefs, when the Independents, among 



Independents, 87 

other difTenters, had efcaped the frightful perfe- 
ction of Charles and Laud^ they treated Popery 
and prelacy with a rigour favouring of revenge — 
the feeling againft Rome being a common ground 
in which all fe£taries naturally concurred. The 
Prefbyterians, indeed, when they had obtained 
power, impofed, with the fame feverity as their 
predeceflbrs had done, their own creeds and con- 
feffions, and inverted their magiftrates with the 
fame power of punifhing with temporal pains and 
penalties difTenters from their eftablifhment — 

" A quiet confcience makes one (o ferene : 
Chriftians have burnt each other, quite perfuaded 
That all the Apoftles would have done as they did." 

During the Civil Wars and the Commonwealth, 
the Prefbyterians obtained the afcendancy in Par- 
liament, and the Independents in the army; 
Cromwell of courfe favouring the latter, though 
he conciliated the Prefbyterian party by placing 
fome of them on his commiffion of triers for the 
approval of preachers throughout the country. 
This " committee of preaching minifters" was 
appointed to fend preachers where they were 
required, and to provide for their maintenance. 
The practice of preaching, which before the 
Reformation had been very uncommon, after that 
epoch became irregular and limited by authority ; 
in general the fermon was written out, learnt, 
and delivered from memory ; but the impaflioned 



88 Wore eft er Seels. 

addrefles of Hancock and the long fermons of 
Hugh Peters never were learned by heart: they 
preached too often, and the hour-glafs was too 
frequently turned for this to have been the cafe. 
Peters on one occafion told his hearers they were 
good fellows and he would have one glafs more 
with them. 

An incident is related by Na/h which, if it do 
not refer to the early progrefs of Prefbyterianifm 
in Wore eft erjhire, I am at a lofs to what to afcribe 
it, unlefs the printer made an error in the 
date : * 

" Eliaxar yackfon (he fays), incumbent of 
Powick, in the year 1622, being much prefsed to 
take the folemn league and covenant, he defired 
till the next morning to confider of it. When 
the morning came, he faid that on the preceding 
night he had had a great lofs : that having read 
the folemn league and covenant before he went to 

f The author of The Parallel, a tract publifhed in 1682, fays— 
"The firft factious union we read of made ufe of to relift any 
lawful authority was that in the year 1638, when the young embryo 
of a covenant was firft hatched in Scotland, about Glafgoiv, and 
which ferved for a type and copy to thofe feveral that have fince 
followed. # * An Englijh oath and covenant came out on the 6th 
of June, 1643, and feemed the effect of the cities importunity—His 
Majefty's loyal city — yet I think feldom called fo but in fome appeal 
from the country, or in the head of their own petitions. The 
citizens promifed the loan of 40,000/. demanded by Parliament, 
upon condition only of the league and covenant being impofed on 
the whole kingdom ; a great fum for the purchafe of their own 
flavery, but a fmall price for the head of a king." The folemn 
league and covenant was profefled and fworn in England, Scotland, 
and Ireland, in the year 1643, but it might have been agitated 
throughout the country fome years earlier. 



Independents. 89 

bed, he left it upon his table ; that forne rogues 
broke in and ftole all his plate and moft of his 
goods, but that, rogues as they were, they had 
not taken the folemn league and covenant, and 
therefore he begged to be excufed." 

The juftices and gentry of Worcefterjhire peti- 
tioned Parliament at the Chriftmas Seffions, 1641, 
in favour of " the continuance of Church govern- 
ment, and eftablifhing the liturgy and uniform 
fervice of God among us," and protefting againfl: 
M the infolencies and extravagancies which have 
been lately introduced by divers fe£ts and fchifms, 
and many dangerous doftrines publicly vented." 
And on Auguft 3rd, 1642, a declaration and pro- 
teftation made by the Grand Jury for the county 
of Worcefter was aflented to by the High Sheriff, 
as alfo by Lord Coventry and many Magiftrates, 
" to defend and maintain the Proteftant religion 
againfl: Popifh recufants, Anabaptifts, and all 
other feparatifts." The ftrife of politics and 
religion was now at its height, and the devoted 
city of Worcefter fully fhared the horrors of the 
Civil Wars. Hugh Peters, mentioned above, is 
faid to have preached at Worcefter Cathedral on 
the 24th of July, 1646, when the city had furren- 
dered to the Parliamentary forces ; and the occa- 
fion of that memorable fiege, as narrated in 
Townf end's Annals, will ferve to mow how far 
the religious element was introduced into the 



go Wore eft er Seels. 

principal affairs of the day. The King's friends 
on JVorcefter walls, and the Roundheads who were 
the befiegers, complimented each other, it seems, 
in good fet terms whenever an opportunity oc- 
curred. c< 111 rayling language the feveral guards 
ufually at and in the night gave one another, the 
enemy calling ours Papiste dogs, Wajhingtmfs 
baftards, RuJfeWs apes, and saying c Where is 
your king, you rogges ? where is your tottered 
king ? ' Ours replying and callyng them traitors, 
felons, rogges to theyr king and country, the fons 
of a Puritan bitch, and bid them goe preach in a 
crab-tree, and come and fetch theyr colours 
which they loft, and ' Where are the Scots, you 
roggues, whom you hired to fight againft your 
king ? ' " 

Mr. Town/end, a Magiftrate of JVorcefterfhire, in 
his MSS., under date May I, 1646 (fame year as 
the above-named fiege of JVorcefter), records the 
following as a then current fquib againft all claffes 
of diflenters : 



" There was a gentleman who being very 
melancholy at these diftracted tymes, and the 
infinite miferies that hath befallen this late 
flourifhing kingdom, falls into a difcontented 
humour or rapture to decipher the perfons myfti- 
cally and in a riddle, leaving the reader to un- 
riddle who are the only troublers of the peace of 
the Church and State : 



Independents. 9 1 

" There dwells a people on the earth 
That reckons true religion treafon, 
That makes fad war an holy mirth, 
Count madnefs zeal and nonfenfe reafon j 
That think no freedom but in flavery, 
That makes lyes truth, religion knavery j 
That rob and cheat with ' yea and nay j ' 
Riddle me, riddle me, who are they ? 

That makes kings great by curbing crowns, 
That fettle peace by plundering towns ; 
That govern with implicit votes, 
That 'ftablifh truth by cutting throats j 
That kifs their matter and betray ; 
Riddle me, riddle me, who are they ? " 

In 1649 the Prefbyterian difcipline was fanc- 
tioned by Parliament, and the Eftablifhed Church 
thus became Prefbyterian until Epifcopacy was 
reftored with Charles II. Great jealoufies exifted 
between the two principal fects, the Independents 
ufing every effort to prevent the eftablifhment of 
a Prefbyterian church, while the latter partly 
originated every calumny they could think of 
againft the religionifts in the army, whom they 
ftigmatifed by the vileft names ; but Cromwell 
and his " invincibles " were not to be thwarted by 
fuch opponents, nor even by a fubfequent Par- 
liament, which prayed and fought counfel of 
Heaven from eight in the morning till feven 
p.m. : that auguft and pious body were informed 
by the General that "the Lord had finifhed 
all further trouble upon the matter by the mar- 
vellous falvation wrought at Worcefter" where 
they had fung pfalms and drubbed all before 



92 Wore eft er Seels. 

them, as Sir Francis Doyle has it in his poem 

of The Cavalier — 

" And though they ihufRed pfalms, to give 
Thefe rebel dogs their due, 
When the roaring fhot poured thick and hot, 
They were ftahvart men and true." 

The year 1649 a ^° witnefled the abolition 
of Deans and Chapters, and the Independents of 
Wore eft er (or Prefbyterians as they were called) 
took poffeflion of the Cathedral for the purpofe 
of their religious worfhip. Mr. Simon Moore 
was then one of their preachers. Baxter •, how- 
ever, at that time was the great light of noncon- 
formity in Wore eft erjhire, although during the 
Civil Wars he held a pofition by which he was 
connected with both the oppofite parties in the 
ftate and yet was the partifan of neither. In 
matters of difcipline and church government 
he occupied a middle ground between Epifco- 
palians and Prefbyterians, and much bufied him- 
felf in the attempt to effect an union of the 
difcordant elements by which he was furrounded. 
The views he entertained being blended with 
the principles of monarchy rendered them very 
popular towards the clofe of Cromwell's career. 
His Agreement for Church Order and Concord was 
figned, among others, by Mr. Jofeph Baker and 
Mr. Juice^ both of Worcefter ; and in 1658 he 
publifhed a pamphlet (which I met with in the 



Independents, 93 

library of the Britijh Mufeum) entitled Judgment 
and Advice of the AJfembly of the Affociated Minif- 
ters ofWorcefterJhire^ held at Worcefter, Aug. 6,1658, 
concerning the endeavours of Ecclefiaftical Peace 
and the waies and meanes of Chriftian Unity; which 
Mr. John Durey doth prefent; fent unto him in the 
name and by the appointment of the faid AJfembly. 
By Richard Baxter , paftor of the church at Kidder- 
minfter." Signed by him, alfo by John Bora/ton, 
paftor of the church at Bewdley; Thomas Wright^ 
Hartlebury ; Giles Colly er^ Blockley ; G. Hop k ins , 
Eve/ham ; and Jos. Trebell^ Church Lench. In 
this pamphlet all fects of Chriftians are exhorted 
to cultivate charity and to fink fuch minor differ- 
ences as were non-effential to vital religion. 
Baxter's intercourfe with the Independents at 
Worcefter^ however, was not very intimate, and 
his preaching in this city feems to have been hin- 
dered on feveral occafions by their intervention. 
Some circumftances attending his connection 
with Worcefter will be found in a document 
hereafter to be prefented to the reader. He nar- 
rowly efcaped being one of the unhappy victims 
of the brutal Judge Jeffries^ by whofe fentence 
he lay in prifon eighteen months, but lived to 
witnefs the toleration effected by the Revolution 
of 1688, which he furvived for three years. 

Cromwell afforded as much indulgence as was 
in his power to all denominations of Chriftians , 



94 Wore eft er Seels. 

but both under the Commonwealth and the 
Protectorate religious toleration was imperfeft, 
in law as well as in practice ; and the Proteftor 
found it neceflary in 1651 to pafs a bill " for the 
prevention of extravagancies in profeflbrs of reli- 
gion/' which was aimed principally at a new fe£t 
called Ranters, whofe profanity and licentioufnefs 
in preaching were notorious at the time. 

The Reftoration of the exiled King brought 
with it the reinftation of the old fyftem of 
things, and the ejected clergy generally returned 
to their livings. On Auguft 31ft, 1660, fays 
the Town/end MS., 

" At the Cathedral Church of Wore eft er was, 
at fix in the morning, the firft morning prayer 
faid in the body of the church, according to the 
ancient cuftom, by Mr. Richard Brown^ ever 
fince the reducing (furrender) of Worcefter to the 
then Parliamentary forces, July 24, 1646." 

September 2nd, 1660 — 

" There was a very great aflembly at morning 
prayer, by fix in the morning, in the Cathedral 
of Worcefter 1 and at nine o'clock there appeared 
again at prayers all the gentry, many citizens, 
and others numerous, and after prayers Dr. 
Doddejwell, a new Prebend, did preach the firft 
fermon, the Dean and Prebends being to refettle 
the church in its fervice, and alfo to repair the 
fame by degrees, which hardly 10,000/. will put 



'Independents. 95 

the whole fabrick in that order it was before the 
barbarous Civil Wars." 

Lord Coventry gave 500/., and the Bifhop 
100/., towards thefe repairs ; and the King af- 
figned for the fame purpofe the improved rents 
of certain impropriations belonging to the Cathe- 
dral which had been made payable to himfelf. 
April 13, 1661 — 

" The firft quire fervice faid and fung in the 
Cathedral Church of Wore eft er fince the reducing 
of the city." 

October 27th — 

M Dr. Thomas Warmftry was brought in this 
day to Worcefter, with about 100 horfe, as Dean 
of Worcefter. The clergy band ftood ready to 
receive him in the city, and forty King's fcholars 
at the College gates. He alighted at his houfe, 
the Deanery, put on his robes, and the Prebends 
and quire met him in the cloifters, fang Te Deum^ 
then came into the quire, then read his letters 
patent for Deanery and enjoyment of all rights 
belonging to his place, took the oaths of fupre- 
macy, allegiance, and againft fimony ; and Sub- 
Dean, Mr. Giles Thornburghj inftalled him. 
The quire fervice finifhed, every one went to 
his own place, and in the evening he faid fervice 
himfelf." 

This Dr. Warmftry was a native of Worcefter^ 
and in 1640, being Regiftrar of the Cathedral, 



96 TV ore eft er Seels. 

was chofen Proctor in Convocation for this 
diocefe, and made a fpeech againft images, altars, 
croffes, &c. } but not coming up fully to the 
humour of the times, he was forced to fly to 
the King at Oxford. Other of the Cathedral 
dignitaries, too, had fuffered feverely in the late 
evil days : Dean Potter , who fent all his plate to 
Charles /, declaring that he himfelf would drink 
out of his hand, as Diogenes had done, rather 
than His Majefty fhould want, was a great 
fufferer ; and Prebendary Tyringham met with 
barbarous ufage from the Parliamentary foldiers. 
Dean Potter was fucceeded by Richard Holdf- 
worth, one of the moft celebrated preachers of 
his time, and very acceptable to the TVorcefter 
Puritans, of whom many were Prefbyterians or 
Independents ; but fubfequently he offended the 
Parliament, was perfecuted and imprifoned. The 
return of Charles II was hailed with bonfires and 
great rejoicings in TVorcefter ; and in the Mira- 
bilis Annus (1661) is an anecdote which will 
fhow to what an extent fuperftition and religious 
party feeling prevailed in thofe days : 

" It is certified from very good hands con- 
cerning one Mr. Townfend's daughter, of the 
city of TVorcefter, that being prefent at a boneiire 
in TVorcefter the evening of that day (according 
to our beft information) when His Majefty was 
proclaimed, fhe drank healths and moft violently 



Independents, 97 

railed againft and bitterly curfed the phanaticks, 
and it pleafed the Lord that the fame night her 
fpeech was fuddenly taken from her and her 
tongue very much fwelled in her mouth ; and 
within four days after, or thereabouts, fhe died. 
Her father fent to Mr. More^ an eminent (query 
Independent; fee page 92) minifter in that city, 
defiring him to bury her with the Book of Common 
Prayer, Upon his refufal he got one Horn/, 
who lived not far from thence — a man of very 
ill fame — to do it; and when he mould have 
read, his eyefight was utterly taken away from 
him ; he tried feveral books, but could read in 
none of them, and the people waited nearly a 
quarter of an hour, till at laft another perfon was, 
by the friends of the deceafed, requefted to do 
that office for them, who, though it is thought 
not canonically qualified for the fervice, in fuch 
an exigency did undertake it, but performed it 
fo confufedly that all prefent were exceedingly 
aftonifhed at it. This is a truth attefted by 
feveral citizens of note and credit in Worcefter, 
and indeed too notorious to be contradicted 
by any." 

With the A£t of Uniformity of Charles II 
( 1662) properly commences the hiftory of Protef- 
tant Diffenters in general and of the eftablifhment 
of the Congregationalifts in Worcefter, "Before 
the day appointed for the enforcement of the a£t 
(fays the Rev. W. H, Stozuell^ in his Hiftory 
of the Puritans^) fome of the molt eminent of 
the Puritan clergy preached farewell fermons 



98 Wore eft er Seels. 

to their weeping congregations and refigned their 
livings ; and when the fatal day arrived, England 
beheld the fpedtacle — unparalleled in the hiftory 
of the church — of nearly 2000 clergymen giving 
up all that was dear to them as gentlemen, 
fcholars, and minifters of religion, for the fake 
of truth and a good confeience. Of the feparate 
churches fome had been formed long before the 
A£t of Uniformity, by Independents, Baptifts, 
and Quakers, and a portion of thefe received not 
a few both of the minifters and of the people 
that were now thrown out of the church. But 
here the hiftory of the Puritans as a body in the 
Anglican Church comes to an end ; it belongs 
to another department to trace the progrefs of 
the nonconformifts." 

Among the minifters ejected from the churches 
of JVorcefter were Mr. Simon Moore and his fon- 
in-law, from the Cathedral. Moore is defcribed 
as an old Independent, and it is ftated by Calamy 
that " after Bartholomew Day, through the fun/ 
of the Juftices and the people, he was forced to 
leave JVorcefter, after which he retired to Lon- 
don" From St. Nicholas' church Mr. Richard 
Finch er was ejefted [Calamy fays it was from 
All Saints'). He is defcribed, in a funeral fermon 
afterwards preached by Mr. S. Slater, as u a 
very gracious and holy man and rich in fpirituals. 
He had good natural abilities, cultivated and 



Independents. 99 

improved by learning ; he had found mercy to 
be faithful, ftanding his ground like a rock in the 
days of violent temptation ; nor would he touch 
(though he faw others fwallow down) thofe 
things which his confcience told him would 
prove defiling to himfelf or {tumbling blocks 
to others. Yet he was a man of peace, fo far 
as ever he could go without forfaking truth and 
holinefs. He was no incendiary, but was a very 
modeft perfon — an induftrious, painful labourer 
in God's vineyard — in his converfation a lingular 
ornament to the Gofpel, and an excellent pattern 
to them that knew him." From St. Andrew's 
church was ejected Mr. Jofeph Baker ^ " a 
learned man, of blamelefs life, who preached 
conftantly, catechifed the people, and conferred 
with families perfonally, efpecially before he firft 
admitted them to the Lord's Supper, — a man 
of extraordinary prudence, calmnefs, patience, 
gravity, and foundnefs of judgment. He was 
neither for prelacy, prefbytery, or independency, 
as formed into parties, but for that which was 
found in all parties, and for concord upon catholic 
terms. The parifh of St. Andrew had but about 
6/. a year endowment, of which he took nothing, 
but gave it to a woman to teach poor children to 
read, and lived upon his own fortune and fome 
fmall augmentation granted by the Parliament. 
Upon his death-bed he was afked what thoughts 



100 Wore eft er Seels. 

he then had of his nonconformity, and replied, 
that he would gladly have continued his miniftry 
if he could have had liberty for it without finning 
againft God^ but when it came to that there was 
no remedy." A Mr. Thomas yuice (alias 
Jewkes) was ejected from fome other parifh 
in Worcefter {Calamy fays it was St. Nicholas), 
and of him it is ftated by Calamy that he was 
" a fober, grave, ferious, peaceable, blamelefs, 
able minifter. He loft ioo/. a year by his 
ejection; afterwards he taught a fchool, till the 
Corporation Act took place, when he was forced 
to abfeond, and was afterwards paftor of a 
congregation at Readings where he died." 

The Public Mercury of October 31, 1661, 
ftates that " The Lord Bifhop of Worcefter hath 
taken prudent care in fettling choice perfons 
to perform lectures in his diocefe, by which 
means His Majefty's good fubjects may hear 
pure and wholefome doctrine." This is an 
indication of the vigilance with which diffenters 
were at that time rooted out of the church. 

The Act of Uniformity prohibited diffenters, 
preaching in conventicles, from coming within 
five miles of any town, under a penalty of 20/, ; 
and whenever five perfons befides the houfehold 
affembled as a religious congregation they were 
liable to three months' imprifonment or a fine 
of 5/.; for a fecond offence, fix months or 10/.; 



Independents. 101 

a third, tranfportation for feven years, or to pay 
ioo/. No allowance was made to expelled 
minifters, although, when the Catholics were 
deprived of their livings by Elizabeth , a provifion 
was made for them, and when the Prefbyterians 
ejedted the eftablifhed hierarchy one-fifth of each 
living was given to the ejedted clergyman. The 
Puritans now becoming Proteftant nonconfor- 
mists, the gaols were quickly filled with them. 
Some Prefbyterians occafionally attended the 
church fervice, to avoid the penalties, but all 
others refufed, and the Ouakers were remark- 
ably firm in their oppofition, never vifiting the 
facred edifice except for the purpofe of bearding 
the parfon and challenging him to difputation. 
It is fuppofed that 8000 perfons perifhed in the 
reign of Charles II, merely for diflenting from 
the eftablifhment, although thefe difTenters agreed 
with the perfecuting body on all effential prin- 
ciples. 

Among the noble band of minifters who re- 
figned, for confcience fake, all their means of 
worldly profperity, was Thomas Bad/and; he was 
eje£ted from Willenhall^ Stafford/hire^ and having 
gathered a few around him at Worceftery whofe 
confcience compelled them to refift the demands 
of the State, he formed them into a diftindt con- 
gregation of Chriftians, who aflembled for wor- 
fhip in a fmall room that flood on the fite of what 



102 Wore eft er Seels. 

was formerly Barr's china manufactory, at the 
bottom of Fifh Street, a fpot well known in 
JVoreefter. He was the minifter of that congre- 
gation during thirty-eight years, but before his 
death the declaration of indulgence by Ja?nes II 
took place in 1687, an ^ immediately on that 
declaration occurring the church was regularly 
conftituted, and Mr. Badlands it is believed, 
adopted the covenant of church memberfhip 
which had been drawn up by Baxter himfelf in 
terms fufficiently general to include almoft all 
denominations who might choofe to embrace it 
as a point of union. Baxter's name was a 
guarantee for the excellence of that covenant, 
which contained the expreffion of the fpirit of 
his life and writings. Mr. Badland died in 1698, 
and was buried in the chancel of old St. Martin's 
church. In Na/h's Hiftory is the following 
account: "On a monument fixed to the fouth 
wall of the fouth aide of St. Martin's church : 
c Under thefe feats lies interred the body of the 
Rev. Mr. Thomas Badland, a faithful and profit- 
able preacher of the Gofpel in this city for the 
fpace of thirty-five years. He refted from his 
labours May 5th, a.d. 1698, est. 64: Mors mihi 
vita nova.' " 

When St. Martin's church was pulled down 
in 1768, the marble tablet which recorded his 
name was, with the reft of the building materials, 



Independents. 103 

thrown careleflly afide, and broken in many frag- 
ments ; thefe were difcovered and purchafed by a 
truftee of the chapel, and, as the record faid, 
" the tablet was repaired at the expenfe of the 
congregation, and erected in the veftibule of 
Angel Street chapel, where we truft it will long 
remain." It did remain there till the chapel was 
taken down, and it is now erected near the pul- 
pit in the prefent chapel. In the year 1706 a 
garden was bought, which was leafehold property 
belonging to the Corporation of the city of 
Worcefter. The late chapel was erected in that 
garden. It was then a very obfcure place to get 
at, approached by three narrow roadways, the 
wideft of which was only five feet. The prin- 
cipal approach to the front door was over the fite 
now occupied by Mr. Goodwin's houfe. Another 
to the back was through what is now called 
Smoke Alley, and a third was from the Butts by 
fome narrow fteps over the city wall to the place 
where the warden's houfe now ftands. Difficulty 
of accefs in thofe days was not deemed an objec- 
tion, becaufe it was not uncommon then for 
aflemblies, fuch as took place in the chapel, to 
be interfered with by mobs, and a narrow accefs 
prevented a large mob from getting near. But 
although the aflemblies in thofe days were liable 
to be attacked by mobs, fome of the congregation 
were evidently people of pofition in the city, for it 



104 Wore eft er Seels. 

appears that in the year 17 15 one of the mem- 
bers of the church (Mr. Thomas Yardlex) was 
Mayor of the city, and the Corporation did him 
the honour of efcorting him to the chapel and 
leaving him at the door. The leafe, which was 
for fortv-two years, renewable even' fourteen, had 
to be renewed in 1763 j and about 1740, more 
than twenty years before the leafe fell in, the 
Corporation gave notice to the truftees that they 
mult not expect a renewal of the leafe, becaufe 
they had determined to leafe it to Roland and 
John Priddey, who intended to convert the chapel 
into a play-houfe. The truftees of the chapel, 
feeing what was preparing for them, thought it 
right to be ready for what was coming, and 
bought two or three houfes in Mealcheapen 
Street, the capital for which they had laid by. 
In 1763 they were prepared to leave. One of 
the truftees met Alderman Johnson of that dav, 
and the Alderman faid, " Well, what are you 
going to do about the chapel, as vou are going to 
be turned out ? M " Oh, we expected it, and are 
prepared." " Why you are not going to have 
another chapel:" " Yes, we have bought fome 
houfes in Mealcheapen Street." "Are vou going 
to build a chapel there?" " Yes." " Why 
that is next door to my houfe ! [This was the 
houfe which is now the Shades tavern.] You 
can't have a chapel next door to my houfe." 



Independen ts, 1 5 

This difcovery at once reverfed the proceedings 
of the Corporation, and the leafe of the old 
premifes was granted to the truftees again. It 
was thought better to forego the play-houfe than 
to have the chapel in Mealcheapen Street. 

At the rifk of being confidered tedious we 
muft now retrace our fteps, in order to introduce 
a document which profeffes to give the hiftory 
of this fociety of Chriftians from its firft forma- 
tion up till our own times. The reafon why it 
was not inferted at the outfet was the defire of 
the author to furnifli as much of the general hif- 
tory of the commencement of nonconformity as 
was neceffary to a correct underftanding of the 
fubjeci, that the pofition and circumftances of an 
infant church might be the more readily appre- 
ciated, 

The following hiftory of the Church at Angel 
Street, TVorcefter, was written by Mr, Sa?nuel 

cc The prefent exiftence of diffenting congre- 
gations being an extenfion of the great principles 
of the Reformation, it may not be thought im- 
proper to commence an account of the prefent 
congregation affembling in Angel Street, Worcefter^ 
by obferving that in all probability the germ of 
it arofe from the preaching of the celebrated 
Latimer^ who was Bifhop of the diocefe in the 
time of Henry VIII. The feed fown by him was 
doubtlefs watered by the martyr Hooper^ who in 



106 Worcefter Setts. 

the reign of Mary was fo cruelly put to death at 
Gloucefter. In the reign of Charles I fome rich 
individuals in London had engaged to raife a fund 
for buying the advowfons of church livings, and 
had among others purchased the living of All 
Saints, in Worcefter; but this being, by the 
powers that then were, declared illegal, the living 
became vefted in the crown, in the gift of which 
it has ever fince continued. In this parifh and 
the adjoining one of St. Andrew many eminent 
clothiers (at that time the ftaple trade of Worcef- 
ter) refided ; they were probably at that time 
denominated Puritans, and perhaps afterwards 
Prefbyterians. It was in the year 1638 that the 
celebrated Richard Baxter determined to devote 
himfelf to the work of the miniftry. At that 
time he refided in Dudley, and going at the time 
of ordination with Mr. Richard Foley and James 
Berry to Worcefter, was ordained by the Bifhop, 
and received a licenfe to teach a fchool, for 
which he fubfcribed as then required. He re- 
turned to Dudley, and preached, his firft fermon 
in the upper parifh church. Soon after this he 
began the ftudy of conformity, removed from 
Dudley to Bridgnorth, and was an afliftant to 

Mr. Mad for about three quarters of a year, 

when the town of Kidderminfter having exhibited 
articles againft the vicar, Mr. Danfe, the matter 
was compounded by his (the vicar) agreeing that 
inftead of his prefent curate he mould allow 60/. 
per annum to any preacher whom fourteen per- 
fons then nominated mould choofe. To perform 
this he gave his bond for 500/. Baxter, after 
one day's fervice, was by thefe fourteen unani- 
moufly chofen, and removed from Bridgnorth to 



Independen ts. 107 

Kidderminfter^ where he was much encouraged 
by the fuccefs of his labours, but the ignorant 
multitude much embarraffed him. Parliament 
having fent down an order for the demoliihing of 
images in churches or on croffes in churchyards, 
Baxter left the churchwarden to do what he 
thought good \ and he having fet up a ladder to 
take down a crucifix from the crofs in the 
churchyard, the mob raifed fuch a riot that both 
Mr. Baxter's life and the churchwarden's were 
in great danger. In this fury of the rabble he 
was advifed to withdraw awhile from home, and 
went to Gloucefter ; he writes — c As I paffed 
through a corner of the furbubs of TVorcefter a 
cry was raifed c Down with the Roundheads,' 
and I was glad to fpur on and be gone j but 
when I came to Gloucefter I found a civil, 
courteous, and religious people, as different from 
TVorcefter as if they had lived under another 
government.' He flayed at Gloucefter for a 
month, and then his friends came to him from 
Kidderminfter to fetch him home, left it mould 
be fuppofed he was againft the King. The Civil 
War foon after began, and the fury of the people 
was fo hot that he withdrew again and joined a 
party of the Earl of EJfex's army, who were fent 
to block up the Lord Byron in TVorcefter. This 
produced the firft engagement at Powick Bridge, 
in which the EJfex party were defeated and re- 
turned to Perfhore ; but the whole army returned 
next day to TVorcefter. This army had many 
excellent minifters as chaplains to the feveral 
regiments, among whom was Mr. Moore^ chap- 
lain to the Lord Wharton^ and he afterwards 
became the Independent preacher at the College. 



io8 JVorcefter Sects, 



cc 



The Civil War proceeding, occafioned 
Baxter's removal to Coventry^ where he lived as 
chaplain to the garrifon two years in quietnefs. 
He left Coventry foon after the battle of Najeby, 
and became chaplain to Colonel Whalley's regi- 
ment till the end of the fiege of Worcefter in 
1646. He writes — c By this time Colonel 
Whalley, though CromweWs kinfman, and com- 
mander of the trufted regiment, became odious 
at the head quarters for my fake ; and when he 
had brought the city to the neceffity of furren- 
dering, two or three days before the furrender, 
Colonel Rain/borough was fent from Oxford to 
command in chief, that he might be governor 
there and gratify the feftarians, and fettle the 
city and country in their way ; but he profpered 
no further than in the city itfelf (a place which 
deferved fuch a judgment), but the county was 
kept free from the infection.' 

" After the King's death, Parliament ordered 
the engagement to be true and faithful to the 
Commonwealth, without King or Houfe of 
Lords. Baxter had before objected to the cove- 
nant, and kept the town and parifh of Kidder- 
minfter, and moft of Worcefter befides, from 
taking it, by preventing ministers from offering 
the engagement in any congregation to the 
people, except in Worcefter city, where he fays — 
4 1 had no great intereft, and knew not what they 
did. 5 During this time of confufion he had 
abundant encouragement in the lectures he 
preached at Worcefter ^ Cleobury^ Dudley^ and 
Shiffhal : the churches were full, windows and 
leads crowded like any London congregation. 
He ftates— c At Kidderminfter our unity and con- 



Independents. 109 

cord was a great advantage to us ; we had no 
private church, though we had private meetings ; 
we had not paftor againft paftor, nor Chriftian 
againft Chriftian. At Bewdley there was a 
church of Anabaptifts ; at Worcefter the Inde- 
pendents gathered theirs, but we were of one 
mind and mouth and way.' The Independents 
of Worcefter had their place of worfhip in the 
Cathedral ; Mr. Simon Moore was one of the 
preachers, and prevented Baxter from preaching 
an aflize fermon before the Judges becaufe he 
preached againft the State. 

" Cromwell being dead, the counties, cities, 
and corporations fent up their congratulations; 
but none in Wore eft erjhire, fave the Independents, 
meddled in it. Baxter names three of them, as 
being all very honeft, fober, and moderate : thefe 
were Mr. John Spilfbury, of Br omf grove ; Mr. 
Suice (Juice or J evokes), of Worcefter, and Mr. 
Rd. Fincher, of St. Nicholas, During Richard 
CromwelFs time he had been defired to preach on 
a day of falling and prayer by all the minifters at 
Worcefter, but being hindered, he enlarged and 
publifhed the fermon he had prepared, and en- 
titled it Gildas Sahianus ; and about the fame 
time he became acquainted with Mr. Clement, a 
writer at Worcefter — an old man, a forward 
profeffor, and of a good converfation, but then 
perverted to he knew not what. c His affertion 
to me (writes Mr. Baxter) was, that no man is 
bound to believe in Chrift who does not fee con- 
firming miracles with his own eyes." Mr. 
Thomas Foley, being High Sheriff, defired Baxter 
to preach before the Judges, which he did from 
Gal. vi, 16, and enlarged it in a treatife entitled 



1 1 Wore eft er SeSfs . 

Crucifixion of the World by the Crofs of Chrift. 
He preached alfo an affize fermon before Judge 
Atkins^ and another before Sergeant Glyn. Thefe 
he printed under the title of The True Catholic 
and Catholic Church defcribed, Bv thefe and his 
difputations about church government he offended 
the powers that then were by having dedicated 
them to Richard CromwelL A Air. J. Nanfan^ 
who had been a Juftice under Oliver ^ had taken 
the engagement, and had figned orders for the 
fequeftration of fome of the King's party, being 
then a Juftice of the Peace, fpoke and wrote 
againft him in open court. A Mr. Tomkins, 
a young man from JVorcefter, wrote againft him 
on the fubject. 

. " From Richard CromvuelFs abdication till the 
Reftoration of Charles II nothing occurred worth 
noticing here. At once all the fequeftered clergy 
then living were reinftated. Baxter left his 
place at Kidderminjier ; and Mr. Moore and his 
fon-in-law being ejected from the Cathedral, of 
courfe the Independent church worshipping there 
was broken up. By the Act. of Uniformity, 
which took place in 1662, Mr. Baker of St. 
Andrew' *s and Mr. Fincher of St. Nicholas* were 
' ejected, as was alfo Mr. Bad/and from Willenhali 
in Staffordshire. He was of a JVorcefter family, 
and the name of Bad/and occurs in the charter 
of James I. He muft have returned to JVorcef- 
ter in 1663, for at his death in 1698 he had been 
a preacher of the Gofpel in JVorcefter for thirty- 
five years. It feems that owing to the unfettled 
ftate of the times it was not till fames II had 
iflued his declaration for liberty that a congre- 
gation in JVorcefter was regularly organifed. The 



Independents. ill 

firft church book is dated 1687. Mr. Badland 
had for an affiftant a Mr. Hand, who had been 
ordained at Oldbury along with Mr. Reynolds, 
Mr. Warren, and Mr. Bennet. Mr. Hand con- 
tinued affiftant to Air. Badland till Mr. 5/*fi- 
#20n? 5 who afterwards fucceeded as paftor, became 
affiftant during the remainder of Air. Badland 9 s 
life. 

M The Reftoration of Charles II having driven 
Baxter from Wore eft erfhire, of courfe his con- 
nection with the county and city ceafed. His 
occafional fervices had doubtlefs been efteemed 
by thofe who conftituted Mr. Badlands congre- 
gation. The annexed document, evidently drawn 
up originally by Baxter as a ground on which 
Epifcopalians, Prefbyterians, and Independents, 
might agree to act, was fubmitted for its adoption, 
and was figned in 1687. From this time the 
church may be properly confidered as Congre- 
gational." 

The document alluded to above is a little 
volume, with parchment covers, containing the 
original declaration or manifefto of this congre- 
gation, in MS. of that date, of which the fol- 
lowing is a copy : 

"1687. 

" The record of a p'ticular church of Chrtft at 
Woreefter, conlifting of paftor and people 
united in ye Chriftian profeffion and cove- 
nant following : 
cc We do beleive yt there is one only God, the 
Father, infinite in being, wifedom, goodneffe, 
and power, ve maker, p'ferver, and difpofer 



112 Worcefter Sefts. 

of all things, and ye moft juft and mercifull 
Lord of all. Wee beleive yt mankind being 
fallen by fin from God and happinefle, under ye 
wrath of God, ye curfe of His law, and ye power 
of ye divell, God fo loved ye world yt He gave 
His only Son to be their redemer, who being 
God) and one with ye Father, did take to Him 
our nature, and became man, being conceived 
of ye Holy Ghoft in ye Virgin Mary, and borne 
of her, and named Jefus Chrift : And having 
lived on earth without fin, and wrought many 
miracles for a witnefle of His truth, He gave up 
Himfelfe a facrifice for o'r fins and a ranfome for 
us, in fuffering death on ye crofle: And being 
buried, He rofe again ye third day, and afterwards 
afcended into heaven, where He is Lord of all in 
glory with ye Father: And having ordained yt 
all yt truly repent and believe in Him and love 
Him above all things, and fincerely obey Him, 
and yt to ye death, mall be faved, and they yt 
will not mall be damned, and comanded His 
rninifters to pr'ch ye Gofpell to ye world: He 
will come againe and raife ye bodies of all men 
from ye dead, and will get all ye world before 
Him to be judged according to what they have 
done in ye body : and He will adjudge ye righte- 
ous to life everlafting, and ye reft to everlafting 
punifhment, wch mail be executed accordingly. 

" We believe yt God ye Holy Ghoft, ye Spirit 
of ye Father and ye Son, was fent from ye Father 
by ye Son, to infpire and guide ye prophets and 
apoftles yt they might fully reveal ye do£trine of 
Chrift : and by multitude of evident miracles and 
wonderfull gifts to be ye great witnefle of Chrift, 
and of ye truth of His holy word : and to dwell 



Independents. 113 

and work in all yt are drawen to beleive, yt 
being firft joyned to Chrift their head, and into 
one church wch is His body, and fo pardoned, and 
made ye fons of GW, they may be a peculiar 
people fanctified to Chrift and may mortify ye 
flefh and overcome ye world and ye devill : and 
being zealous of good works, may ferve God in 
holineffe and may live in ye fpeciall love and 
comunion of ye faints and in hope of Chriffs 
coming and of everlafting life. 

"We do heartily take this one God for o'r only 
God) and o'r cheif good, and this Jefus Chrift for 
our only Lord, Redemer, and Saviour, and this 
Holy Ghoft for o'r fanctifier, and ye doctrine by 
him revealed and fealed by His miracles, and now 
contained in ye Holy Scriptures, we do take for 
ye law of God and ye rule of o'r faith and life. 
And, repenting unfeignedly of o'r fins, we do 
refolve through ye grace of God fincerely to obey 
Him, both in holineffe to God and righteoufnefle 
to men, and in fpeciall love to ye faints and 
comunion with them, againft all ye temptations 
of ye devill, ye world, and o'r owne flefh, and 
this to ye death. 

" Thomas Bad/and, paftour 

* " William Hodges Mr. John Beard and 
Mrs. A?e Wolly his wife 

Mrs. Alfe Bear croft Mrs. Sarah Chetle 

Mrs. Wildy Mrs. Dorothy Wooly 

Elixab. Badland Mrs. Eliz. Stirmy 

Mrs. Mary Cook Margaret Lokier 

Mr. TVm. Chetle Jene Hankins 

Mr. Thos. Smith Eliza Browne 



114 Wore eft er Seels. 

Mr. Jos. Richards and Mrs. Eliz. Dolman 

his wife Elinor Mrs. Abigail Higgins 

Henry Margery Tayler 

Richard Wheeler and Ann Owen 

An his wif Cifely Finch er 

Eliz. Walker Elizab. Luggon 

Katherin Blackwey Margery Wells 

Mrs. Sarah Chetle J°J e ph Fincher 

daught. to Mr. John Kent 

Wm. Chetle Mrs. Ann Harris wife 
Bridget Smith to Mr. Ric. Harris 

Mrs. Mary Walton Mr. John Evans and 
Mrs. Mary Longmore his wife Anne" 

After the above declaration, and the fignatures 
attached thereto, there are many pages of names 
of members admitted, entered at different times, 
without date, till the year 1700, and among thefe 
names are many ftill extant in the city of 
Worcefter. Some of the fignatures are written 
by proxy, and a mark attached; but thefe marks 
are of all fhapes and forms except the crofs — a 
fign believed by our Puritanical forefathers to be 
more an emblem of the great beaft than of Chrif- 
tianity. Lifts of admiffions to memberfhip occur 
in this little book up to about the middle of the 
laft century only, and I find that fome of the 
books of the fociety from about that date were 
loft or deftroyed during an unfortunate Chancery 
fuit early in the prefent century. A loofe memo- 
randum enclofed in the declaration book ftates as 
follows : 






Independents, 115 

" The regifter of baptifms of the correfpond- 
ing dates with the regiftry of the admiffion of 
members at the commencement of this book has 
been taken out of this end, put into a ftiff paper 
cover, and is depofited (with all the baptifmal 
regifters belonging to Angel Street fociety of a 
fubfequent date) in the office of the Regiftrar 
General, London, 

" G, Redford, D.D., LL.D., Paftor. 

Rd. Evans^ 
Stephen Burden^ 
Robt, Newman^ 
Chas, Martin , 



■ Deacons. 5 



But now to refume Mr. Samuel BlackweWs 
MS. hiftory: 

cc The number of communicants," fays he, 
" added in Mr. Badlands hand- writing is forty. 
After 1687 to February 22 is 120. The place 
of worfhip was at the lower end of Fifh Street, 
where the front part of the porcelain manu- 
factory* nowftands, but no part of the old build- 
ing now remains. It had been lighted up at 
night by three fmall brafs chandeliers, which, 
with fome iron candlefticks to ftick in the pillars 
and fome of the wainfcoat of the pews, were 
made ufe of in the prefent meeting-houfe. Mr. 
Badland died in 1698, and was buried in the 
chancel of old St. Martin's church; and when 
that church was pulled down in 1768, the marble 
tablet which recorded his name was, with the 
reft of the building materials, thrown careleflly 

* Now MefTrs, Dent and Co.'s glove manufactory, Warmfhy Slip. 



n6 Wore eft er Seels. 

afide, and broken in many fragments ; thefe were 
difcovered and purchafed by a truftee of the 
chapel, and, as the record faid, c the tablet was 
repaired at the expenfe of the congregation and 
ere£ted in the veftibule of Angel Street chapel, 
where we truft it will long remain/ 

" The Rev. Chewning Blackmore fucceeded 
Mr. Badland as paftor, Mr. Hand for fome time 
continuing his affiftant. After Mr. Hand's 
death, Mr. John Butler^ at that time a celebrated 
printer in Worcefter, was employed to invite Mr. 
John Stokes^ who then refided with his father in 
Dudley^ to become affiftant to Mr. Blackmore. 
He accepted the invitation, and after fome time 
he married Penelope Hand^ commenced as fchool- 
mafter, and kept his fchool in the prefent chapel, 
till from injuries done to the building he was 
obliged to remove the fchool elfewhere. He 
never would be ordained, but continued to affift 
Mr. Blackmore and others till an unfortunate dif- 
agreement caufed him to remove from Worcefter. 
His refufing ordination was the reafon that pre- 
vented him from becoming paftor. He lived to 
the very advanced age of eighty-fix, and died at 
his fon's home, at The Rhyd, now the feat of the 
Lechmeres. 

" The religious fervices were continued as 
ufual, with perhaps an annual fervice after the 
Revolution, in 1689, on the 5th of November. 
The place of worfhip now in Angel Street was 
built in Mr. Blackmore' 's time, in 1708, and fome 
time between that date and 1722 was regiftered 
at the quarter feffions as a place of worfhip for the 
Prefbyterians. In the riot that took place about 
the commencement of the reign of George /, 



Indepen dents, 1 1 7 

when many meeting-houfes were deftroyed, it 
was confidered in fo much danger that for feme 
weeks a watch was kept for its prefervation. 
Mr. Blackmore married a lady of the name of 
Abigail Higgins, whofe name occurs in Mr. 
Badlands lift of church members. He built the 
back part of the laft north-eaft houfe in Foregate 
Street, furnifhed his parlour with a numerous 
collection of nonconformift minifters [portraits, 
of courfe], which was confidered quite a curi- 
ofity and as fuch frequently vifited by Sir C. 
Trubjhaw Withers. Mr. Blackmore died July 15, 
1737, and was buried in St. Andrew's church, 
where a monument to his memory remains. He 
left a fum of money for the diftribution of Bibles 
and for preaching two fermons annually to young 
people on the 15th of July and on New If ear's 
Day ; the fubjects to be the danger of delay in 
religion, and on the power and grace of Chrift. 
A fermon on the 5th of November was probably 
added foon after the Revolution of 1688. Two 
hundred and fifty members were added in his time. 

" Rev. Francis Spilfbury, then of Kidder minfter, 
fucceeded Mr. Blackmore as paftor, Mr. Stokes 
continuing affiftant. The religious fervices were 
continued as ufual, but the fubfcription to the 
church profeffion and covenant was difcontinued. 
Mr. Spil/bury was much refpected, but receiving 
an invitation to the congregation at Salter's Hill, 
London, he foon removed thither. He kept up 
his connection with Worcefter by an annual vifit, 
at which time he preached and conducted a 
feafon of public worfhip. 

u The Rev. Francis Blackmore, fon of the late 
C, Blackmore, and his brother, Edward Chewning 



Ii8 Wore eft er Seels. 

Blackmore^ were received with others into com- 
munion June 15, 1721. He had been ordained 

to fucceed Mr. H at Evejham, and on the 

removal of Mr. Spilfbury he was invited to 
fucceed him as paftor, Mr. Stokes continuing 
affiftant. This connection, too, foon became fo 
very unfortunate that the elders and managers 
forcibly expelled Mr. Blackmore, who on a 
Lord's Day morning, finding the pulpit occupied 
by Mr. Adams of Bewdley^ on entering the chapel 
exclaimed — c A pretty piece of work, truly, and 

Mr. at the head of it ! ' He left the place 

inftantly, and never entered it afterwards, although 
he never refigned, nor would give up his claim 
to be paftor as long as he lived. He refided 
in Foregate Street till his death in 1760, and was 
buried in St. Andrew's church. Mr. Stokes 
immediately withdrew from Worcefter^ and be- 
came minifter to a fmall congregation at Ledbury , 
but for fome years before his death refided in 
Worcefter or its vicinity till he removed to the 
houfe appointed for all living. Many families 
left the congregation in confequence of the above 
quarrel. 

" During Mr. Francis Blackmore's time ferious 
difagreements had arifen between the managers 
of the congregation and the Corporation. The 
ground upon which the prefent building ftands 
was the property of Mr. Timothy Colles, whofe 
name appears in the regifter of members February 
18, 1703. The ufual renewable leafe from the 
Corporation for forty-one years was made to 
him of a garden with the ' Blanquet ' or c Ban- 
quetting-houfe ' thereon, in 1708, the year in 
which the chapel was eredted. This leafe was 



Independen ts* 119 

again renewed to the fame Timothy Colles and 
under the fame defcription in 1722 ; which leafe 
was never renewed, and of courfe expired in 
1763. The difagreement above alluded to having 
increafed, the prefent building and premifes were 
fold to Rowland Priddy and jfos. Priddy for the 
underftood and avowed purpofe of converting the 
prefent building into a play-houfe, and the Cor- 
poration executed a leafe, dated June 2, 1740, to 
thofe perfons for the ufual term of forty-one 
years, but to commence from Michaelmas, 1763, 
the time the leafe was to expire. To prevent 
this iffue, two leading gentlemen of the congre- 
gation, Richard Broad and Philip Fincher^ Efq., 
of Shelly purchafed, with property belonging to the 
congregation, freehold premifes in Mealcheapen 
Street, intending to take down and remove all 
the building except the c Banquetting-houfe,' 
and leave the ground as a garden, juft as it was 
before 1763 ; intending to build another meeting 
houfe on the freehold property in Mealcheapen 
Street. This becoming probably known, proved 
fo offenfive to the late Alderman John/on, whofe 
dwelling-houfe adjoined the freehold, and who 
did not like a Prefbyterian meeting at his next 
door, that a final arrangement was made that the 
premifes mould be held under the leafe to the 
Priddy s for the firft fourteen years of their renew- 
able leafe, that it mould be afterwards renewed 
for the congregation at a fine of 31/. ioj. and a 
nominal rent of 2s, and capons. It was confe- 
quently fo held till a new leafe was granted for 
forty-one years, renewable as ufual every fourteen 
years, from Michaelmas, 1777, to fifteen perfons 
therein named, upon the referved rent, ufual 



120 Wore eft er Seels. ' 

covenants, and the renewable fine of 31/. 10s, 
This was the firft leafe ever granted to truftees ; 
and of thefe fifteen perfons the late Mr. T. Hodges 
was the indifputable furvivor. The leafe has ever 
fince been regularly renewed, under the fame 
defcription and in the fame terms, in the years 
1791, 1805, 1819, and 1833. The prefent 
truftees have now (1841) confented to the pro- 
pofed terms for enfranchifing the fame, under 
the late Municipal Reform A£t. During Mr. 

Blackmore's time alfo Mrs. Sarah Chi left a 

leafehold houfe in Foregate Street for the dwelling 
of the minifter ; it has, however, been long fince 
fold. 

" Soon after the lamentable difagreement re- 
ferred to, the Rev. Jos. Carpenter, of Warwick, 
became the paftor. The old man wondered thev 
mould invite him, but faid if they grew tired, 
and wifhed to change, they would not have fo 
much trouble in getting rid of him. He was 
much efteemed, and refided in the houfe left for 
the minifter in 1760. 

"The Rev. John Allen, M.D. (r), of London, 
fucceeded. He vifited London too frequently and 
too long continued, and took different fides with 
his congregation in election matters ; fo the con- 
nection became uncomfortable. He took leave, 
with a concluding fermon from Jeremiah xx, 9 : 
c I was weary with forbearance and I could not 
ftay.' A handfome prefent was made to him 
on leaving, which he accepted without faying 
c Thank you.' He was paftor till 1764. 

" Rev. Thomas Urwick, whofe education com- 
menced under Dr. Doddridge, and finifhed at 
Glafgow, and who had been affiftant minifter for 



Independen ts. 1 2 1 

ten years, fucceeded. At his ordination the 
minifters employed were Mr. Fawcett of Kidder- 
minfter, Mr. Wyld of Carr's Lane, Birmingham, 
Mr. Spilfbury of London, Mr. Stokes of Ledbury, 
and others. In 1775 he refigned, fettled at 
Clapham, and died there in 1807." 

Mr. BlackweWs document here becomes difcur- 
five, and as I fhall have occafion to interweave 
the narrative written by him with particulars 
derived from other fources, his MS. muft now 
be confidered at an end fo far as continuous 
quotation is concerned. 

On the refignation of Mr. Urwick, in 1775, 
feveral minifters were applied to, but all declined 
the invitation, until Mr. Bel/ham was chofen. 
This gentleman afterwards becoming notorious 
as the leader of the Socinian party, a brief notice 
of his connection with Worcefter may be defirable. 
When Mr. Beljham was ordained here, in 1778, 
I find from the truftees' book that " a genteel 
dinner for about thirty " was ordered to be pro- 
vided by Mr. Tardley, for the minifters and 
others attending the ordination; they were to 
fleep at the houfes of the members and fubfcribers 
to the fociety, or beds were to be provided at the 
Star and Garter, where alfo ftables were engaged 
for their horfes ; likewife they were to make ufe 
of Mr. Tardley's houfe, known as " Tom's Coffee- 
houfe," to be at when they pleafed, and Mr. 



122 Wore eft er Seels. 

Tardley to provide a fupper for thofe who chofe 
to fup. " Tom's Coffee-houfe " was lituate nearly 
oppofite the Star and Garter hotel ; at the back 
of the coffee-houfe was an affembly room and a 
bowling green. The premifes are now occupied 
by Mr. Alderman Firkins^ glover, &c. It 
appears that fome time previous to Mr. Beljharrfs 
fettlement here an abortive attempt was made to 
commence a feparate intereft or congregation in 
the city, to be called Independent (the Angel 
Street fociety being ftill denominated Prefbyte- 
rian), but Mr. Blackwell fays — "Of. the perfons 
who firft began it the leaft faid the better," and 
in obedience to this hint I have fought no further 
to pry into their hiftory. Their chapel or con- 
venticle was fituated on the fouth fide of Pump 
Street, and was licenfed and registered in the 
Archdeacon's court September 8th, 1778, and 
opened on the following September 17th. Mr. 
Lewis (fubfequently of IVootton-under-Edge) was 
minifter there for fome time, but after a few 
years it was abandoned (in 1795), and the build- 
ing or ground on which it flood is now occupied 
by the Wefleyan chapel. Mr. Beljham evidently 
anticipated a great acceffion to his Prefbyterian 
congregation^ as he called them, and being pre- 
fent when a furvey was made of the galleries, to 
afcertain if they were fufficient to fupport fuch a 
multitude as were fuppofed would be affembled 



Independen ts. 123 

(Mr. Blackwell notes), "took occafion to obferve 
that the canopy of the found-board over the 
pulpit was furmounted by the figure of a human 
heart, flaming with devotion and winged with 
love." Mr. Blackwell does not ftate whether 
this fymbol was approved or not by the new 
preacher, but he remarks that cc this very appro- 
priate emblem of what fnould be the character of 
the minifter has long been deftroyed." Every- 
thing betokened profperity when Mr. Beljham 
firft connected himfelf with the Worcefter In- 
dependents : his early fervices feem to have been 
accounted by his congregation correct and ortho- 
dox, and his fermons were in the ftyle of the 
old Prefbyterians. " True, they were confidered 
dull and tirefome on account of their extreme 
length (his prayers being efpecially wearifome), 
yet his difcourfes were frequently on the great 
fubjecl: of mediation and were decidedly evan- 
gelical, the preacher not having then imbibed, or 
at all events given expreflion to, the ftrong 
opinions which fubfequently rendered his name 
notorious as a Socinian." Moreover he greatly 
improved the difcipline of the fociety ; fpecial 
prayer meetings were commenced by him, and 
were firft held in a large upper feat at the fouth 
end of the eaft gallery, then known as the cc old 
praying feat ; " afterwards the veftry was ufed 
for the purpofe. The City Library, which had 



124 Worcefier Sefts. 

been begun by a few perfons of the congregation, 
and kept in a room in Angel Street, was removed, 
when the veftry was built, to the room over it, 
where it continued till the prefent library in 
Pierpoint Street was ere£ted. Mr. Bel/ham could 
not have been in Wore eft er much more than 
three years when he communicated his deter- 
mination to accept the charge of the academy 
at Daventry^ and his removal thither took place 
in 1781. 

The Rev. J. Gummer^ of Hereford^ fucceeded 
him in the fame year, being recommended by 
the celebrated Job Orton^ the pupil, friend, and 
biographer of Doddridge. The minifter's houfe 
in Foregate Street belonging to the Independents 
having been fold, Mr. Gummer at firft refided in 
a part of what is now the Working Man's Infti- 
tute (late Simpfon's and then Cohille's academy 
in Silver Street), till a parfonage houfe adjoining 
the chapel was built for him. The fociety of 
Independents appears to have been much in- 
creafed during his miniftry, towards the clofe 
of which however, in 1791, great diffenffions 
had arifen among them, and their affairs were 
evidently in a critical ftate, many members having 
withdrawn from the fociety. He refigned in 
that year, and removed into Wilt/hire. 

Mr. Gummer's fuccefTor, in the fame year, was 
the Rev. G. Ofborn, from Weft Bromwich. He 



Independents. 125 

was born at Cork, in 1757, and in early youth 
was placed under the care of a clergyman there, 
who beftowed much attention upon his pupil. 
Hearing one of Mr. Whitfield's ftirring fermons 
confirmed a previous bias in his mind to educate 
himfelf for the miniftry, for which his intellectual 
talents alfo feemed to befit him. At length he 
embarked for England, ftudied at the academy at 
Daventry, and returned to Ireland to exercife his 
minifterial labours in that country, but fiibfe- 
quently again proceeded to England, where he 
married, in March, 1785, the daughter of John 
and Frances Hartley, of Fleet Street. He then 
removed to Weft Bromwich, where he took 
charge of a congregation, eftablifhed Sunday 
fchools and a lying-in charity, and remained there 
for fix years, when he was invited to Worcefter. 
Mr. OJborn kept a fchool here and continued 
paftor till his death, in 18 12. His peculiar views 
as a Baptift muft have led to fome inconvenience 
between him and his congregation in regard to 
ceremonial if not to difcipline ; it therefore fpeaks 
well for the Chrifrian charity and forbearance 
both of paftor and people that under fuch cir- 
cumftances their connection mould have con- 
tinued for the lengthened period of twenty-one 
years. Mr. OJborn was, however, eminently 
a Chriftian man, and his practical ufefulnefs is 
vouched for by the fact that under his aufpices 



126 Worcefter Setts. 

the firft Sunday fchool in this city (although a 
previous attempt feems to have been made at St. 
Nicholas' church) was eftablifhed in connection 
with Angel Street chapel, in the year 1797 — the 
boys' fchool in that year, and the girls' in 1798 ; 
fince which time the fchools have been main- 
tained and greatly increased, and the example 
followed by every congregation both of the Eftab- 
lifhed Church and of diffenters. I have before 
me a printed fermon, preached by Mr. Ofborn 
(and kindly lent me by his daughter, Mifs OJborn^ 
bookfeller, of the Crofs, Worcefter}^ preached at 
Angel Street chapel on the 9th of November, 
1800, for the benefit of thefe Sunday fchools. 
The fubjecl: of the fermon is Moral Charity ; 
and it is a curious feature in the hiftory of a time 
fo recent as to be within the recollection of the 
exifting generation, that the principal object of 
this fermon was to confute the popular flander 
that Sunday fchools were believed to be " femi- 
naries of fedition and atheifm, and nurferies of 
indolence, pride, and difaffection" — to mow that 
they were not calculated to fofter the intereft of 
a party, and neither intended nor ufed as means 
of levying contributions for the fupport of erro- 
neous conventicles. " We have no fecret rules," 
fays the advocate for Sunday training; " our place 
of meeting, our mode of teaching, and our pro- 
grefs in utility are all open — all avowed — all 



Independen ts. 127 

foliciting the vigilant infpection both of friends 
and enemies." He fays, in his addrefs accom- 
panying the fermon — 

" Soon after coming to refide in this city, I 
was led to notice multitudes of poor, idle, mifer- 
able-looking children, fauntering and begging 
about the ftreets — an evil of confiderable growth, 
yet not always within the power of the magif- 
trates to remedy. It ftruck me that Sunday 
fchools might help to prevent fuch a nuifance. 
I had tried the experiment in Stafford/hire , and 
found it anfwer much to my wifh. As it is the 
duty of every citizen to do his beft for the public 
good, and efpecially of every Chriftian minifter 
to exert himfelf for the good of fouls, I had 
the honour and happinefs to propofe the forma- 
tion of an Evangelic Society with this view. 
Under the patronage of this inftitution the Gof- 
pel has been preached in the adjacent villages, 
and after duly confidering the moil probable 
means of fuccefs, we were induced to commence 
a Sunday fchool for boys in the city of Worcefter, 
Auguft 20th, 1797. I preached for their benefit 
May 27th, 1798, and through the great encou- 
ragement then afforded we were enabled to eftab- 
lifh another fchool, for girls, for both of which 
I preached to a very numerous congregation, 
Auguft 25th, 1799. In the next year the num- 
ber of fcholars increafed much, and I preached 
for their common benefit on Sunday, November 
9th, 1800. Our encouragement then was fo 
confiderable that we were enabled to furnifh the 
boys with hats and the girls with bonnets, the 



128 Wore eft er Seels, 

vifitors gratuitoufly affifting the girls with tippets. 
And this year (1801) I have been enabled to 
plead the caufe of 130 poor children, who have 
been much aflifted by the fteady and generous 
zeal of our friends and the public, and who are 
now prefented with a comfortable article of drefs 
each, and the moft deferving of whom are in- 
ftru&ed in writing, &c, on the week-day even- 
ings. I can affert with truth and confidence 
that thefe are not either feditious or atheiftic 
feminaries : they are freely taught to read and 
believe the Bible; they are regularly brought 
twice on the Lord's Day to public worfhip \ they 
are alfo inftruited to repeat hymns and to learn 
the catechifms of Watts and of the orthodox 
affembly of divines, in which alfo they are ex- 
amined publicly by the minifter every month. 
Thus, while our grand objeft is to refcue fouls 
from wretchednefs, we defire to teach them all 
to a£t juftly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly 
with GW, believing as we afluredly do that we 
are all haftening to an eternity of joy or woe. 
Since the foregoing fheets went to prefs, it has 
afforded the author and his friends great pleafure 
to under ft and that efforts are now making by the 
clergy of the Eftablifhment in this city, under 
the fpecial direction of their prefent venerable 
Bifhop, to revive the Sunday fchool in St. Nicholas' 
parijh^ and to increafe the number and extend 
the advantages of fuch charitable inftitutions 
through the town. May all their Chriftian 
labours be wifely and liberally diredted, and may 
every friend of truth and love affift, and enjoy the 
peaceful fruits." 






Independents. 129 

As a preacher Mr. OJborn feems to have been 
confpicuous, and would have attained, to fbrne 
eminence as a pulpit orator had health permitted. 
His fcholaftic attainments and general knowledge 
alfo peculiarly qualified him for the office of 
tutor. He died at the parfonage houfe adjoining 
the chapel on November 10th, 18 12, aged fifty- 
four, and was interred in the burial ground adjoin- 
ing the chapel, leaving behind him a widow, one 
fon, and four daughters. He was the author of 
publifhed fermons on Chriftianity attefted and 
explained by Prophecy ; Evangelic Faith and 
Union; Moral Charity; and Devout Loyalty. 

The Rev. D. Fleming, of Cork, became paftor 
of Angel Street chapel in 18 14, but refigned in 
the following year, and was fucceeded by 

Mr. (now the Rev. Dr.) Vaughan. This 
gentleman, who was for fome years Prefident of 
Lancajhire College, and an author and preacher 
of confiderable mark, received a collegiate educa- 
tion at Glafgow, and ftudied theology under the 
Rev. Mr. Thorpe, of Briftol, who was well 
known for his attainments. He commenced his 
paftorate at Worcefter in 18 19, and refigned 
February 20th, 1825, when he went to Kenfing- 
ton, and remained there till he became Prefident 
of the Lancajhire College. 

I have had the privilege of liftening to feveral 
of the Rev. Dr's. heart-ftirring addrefies, and 



130 . Wore eft er Sefts. 

although now advancing in years he moft for- 
cibly illuftrates the known truth that the waning 
of intellectual power is not neceflarily coincident 
with declining days. As an orator, Dr. Vaughan 
has long ago acquired the ars celare artem — the 
power of concealing beneath great eafe, fimpli- 
city, grace, and quiet dignity of expreflion, the 
working of manifold logical proceffes, the elimi- 
nation of powerful argument, and an amplitude 
of intellectual riches culled from a wide and 
varied field of refearch — a power which he 
wields with grandeur of conception, fublimity 
of thought, and potency of application. Unfor- 
tunately I have only taken brief notes of but 
two of his fermons delivered during his occafional 
vifits to Worcefter^ and the firft was preached 
on a Sunday foon after the opening of the prefent 
new chapel ; text, " But they made light of it, 
and went their ways, one to his farm, another to 
his merchandife ; " Matthew xxii, 5. The fol- 
lowing is a very brief abftra£t of this difcourfe : 

The people who had been invited to the 
marriage feaft made light of it. That was . a 
negledl or contempt of the invitation — a fin ftill 
moft common in our own day. Obferve, the 
defpifers were not the declared enemies of God : 
they would have fhrunk from the imputation of 
being infidels or atheifts ; they had fimply neg- 
lected to refpond to His call. " Religion (faid 



Independents. 131 

they) might be a good thing for thofe who had a 
difpofition for it, but we have demands on our 
time which will admit of nothing elfe." Expe- 
dients were always at hand, whereby fuch men 
fought to efcape the claims of the Gofpel, while 
occupying themfelves with the purfuits and plea- 
fures of life. The preacher undertook to prove 
this conduct to be — firft, molt unreafonable; 
next, as deeply criminal ; and laftly, if perfevered 
in, as certain to iflue in fomething unfpeakably 
difaftrous. As to its being unreafonable : let it 
not be fuppofed that religion prevented a proper 
attention to the concerns of this life ; by no 
means : a man who took a farm, or who became 
a merchant, mould be prepared to exercife his 
utmoft fkill and diligence in rendering his labours 
productive. If not fo prepared, he had no right 
to become the one or the other, for it was an 
apoftolic injunction, "Not flothful inbufinefs" — 
but at the fame time " fearing the Lord" He 
who noted with what forefight and fatherly care 
and wondrous fkill God provided for the inferior 
animals, adapting them, their food, covering, and 
all other circumftances, to the conditions by 
which they found themfelves furrounded, could 
never mifrruft His providence toward fo fuperior 
a being as man. True, man had reafon given 
him, to more than compenfate for inftinct ; but 
if the exercife of his reafon terminated in the 
production of food, clothing, and a habitation, 
in what was he fuperior to the brute ? But it 
might be faid that man was capable of enjoyment 
in literature, fcience, and art. True again, but 
all that terminated in the earthly and fenfuous, 
and had no reference to the higher object for 



132 Worcefter Se 

which man's faculties had been awarded to him. 
Once more, it might be laid that the hui 
family were capable of a moral fenfe of right md 
wrong — that they could diftinguifh between the 
true and the falfe, and were bound to act on that 
bails towards their fellow creatures. Yes. 
that was not all. Had G:d made this beau 
earth, fo elaborately carpeted, lb pregnant in air, 
earth, and water, with overwhelming proof? of 
defign and benevolence, merely for the ule of 
upright farmers and thriving merchants I Were 
the faculties of man and his perception of the 
truth and of the diitiiictions between ri^ht and 
wrong — to be exercifed only in reference to himfelf 
and worldly matters, and not towards his Maker? 
Suppofe fiich a perlbn admitted to the realms of 
the blelTed, what a wide wafte to all eternity 
would heaven prove to him ! Next, the dc^p 
criminality of neglect was to be proved. A 
man's body was riven to him in txuft, and if he 
committed excels in anv wav his own lie in cried 
out that he had wronged G:d?s workmanfhip. 
But what of the foul : Was not that a much 
more precious truft : The neglect of the foul's 
intereit, by not accepting the Goipe; of Cbrijiy 
was unipeakablv deplorable — -a foiling of a glo- 
rious birthright for a mere meis of pottage. Nor 
were the coniequences of neglect confined to a 
man's felt : his neglect of religion was an actual 
preaching to his neighbours that he believed there 
was nothing in it. Was not fuch an example 
injurious r No man ever went to heaven without 
drawing a train of other fouls in his company; 
no one ever descended to eternal punifhment 
without finking others along: with him, to be his 



Independents. 133 

terror and his curfe throughout a baleful eternity, 
heightened by the continual confcioufnefs that he 
had led the way thither for many other of his 
fellow creatures. But the moil: criminal afpect 
of this neglect of religion was in its reference to 
God. And here the preacher drew a glowing 
picture of what this Almighty Being had done 
for man — his fubjection of the refources of nature 
and of animal life to our ufe, fuftenance, and 
comfort ; but above all, His wondrous fcheme 
of redemption, to remedy the difaftrous effects of 
the myfterious permiffion of fin in the world. 
Therefore the bafeft and the moft criminal of all 
things was a neglect and a contempt of fuch a 
God) to whom we owed all our enjoyment of the 
prefent — all our hopes of future life. The 
iffue of fuch a fin, if perfevered in, could not fail 
to be unfpeakably difaftrous. A foul loft was 
not loft to being but to God — a drifted wreck, 
for ever haunted with ghoft-like memories of 
neglected opportunities as well as of unrepented 
fin — whofe imagination and confcience remained, 
but only to heighten and deepen the fenfe of 
inward wretchednefs— whofe paffions remained, 
but ftill to go on from worfe to worfe, reaping 
only increafing punifhment. Oh, while it was 
called to-day, he exhorted his hearers to fall at 
the foot of the crofs, and feek redemption in the 
blood of Cbrift. Let them not hearken to that 
fophiftry which would have them believe that 
things would not be fo bad in the next world as 
was reprefented, and that God was fitting His 
creatures here for whatever ftate they would 
have to appear in hereafter. This theory origi- 
nated with the father of lies, and had beguiled 



134 Wore eft er Seels, 

many a foul into perdition. The Sacred Book 
which was to be their only guidance had declared 
that "where the tree falls, there it muft lie;" 
and " he that is unjuft, let him be unjuft ftill." 
Therefore lofe not a moment, in looking to the 
Saviour and praying for the influence of the Holy 
Spirit to lead into all truth and purity of life. 

The above is but a fkeleton of what the 
eloquent preacher covered with flefh and filled 
with glowing life, by his beautiful language and 
imagery. 

When Dr. Vaughan refigned his paftoral 
charge into the hands of his fuccefTor, Dr. 
Redford^ he fcarcely contemplated the poffibility 
of his being called upon at the diftant period 
of thirty-five years to reoccupy the pulpit at 
Worcefter for the purpofe of "improving" the 
lamented deceafe of that gentleman ; yet fuch 
was the cafe, as will be hereafter adverted to. 
But we muft now haften on to a record of the 
Rev. Dr. Redford^ who for fo many years occu- 
pied a prominent pofition in Wore eft er^ and whofe 
remains have been but recently configned to the 
tomb. He was the only fon of the Rev. Alexan- 
der Redford, a Scotch Prefbyterian, who, coming 
to England, became an Independent, and was for 
more than half a century the minifter at Wind/or. 
George Redford began his ftudies at Hoxton Col- 
lege, and afterwards entered the Univerfity of 



Independen ts. 135 

Glafgow^ where he gained fome prizes of dif- 
tin&ion in his clafles, and took his M.A. degree, 
in after life having the honorary degree of LL.D. 
conferred upon him by the Univerfity. After 
being ordained he was appointed paftor of the 
Independent Church at Uxbridge^ where he 
refided feveral years. Although a very young 
man at this time his preaching attracted much 
attention, and his congregation embraced both 
epifcopalians and nonconforming. He had then 
a commanding perfonal appearance, with an 
impreffive manner, much natural eloquence, 
and a choice of language not generally heard 
from the diflenting pulpits of thofe days ; his 
ftyle alfo was original and argumentative, while 
in illuftration he was felicitous and pungent, and 
dexterous in the practical application of his 
theme. He foon became the friend of the moft 
diftinguifhed men of his party, fuch as Dr. Pye 
Smithy the Rev. Robert Hall^ jfobn Fofter^ and 
the Rev. TV. jf. fay, of Bath^ whofe biographer 
he afterwards was, in aflbciation with the late 
Rev. J. A. James^ alfo his own moft intimate 
friend. 

In 1825 he was invited to fucceed the Rev. 
Dr. Vaughan in the miniftry at Angel Street 
chapel, in this city, and accepted the invitation. 
In this wider field of ufefulnefs his vigorous 
mind foon found opportunities of exertion, which 



136 V/orcefter Sefts. 

he was not flow to improve. In January, 1827, 
Dr. Redford was led into a controverfy, from 
which, when it came to be generally known that 
he had taken part in it, he fubfequently derived 
great reputation. A public challenge to point 
out any errors in do£trine or morals of the 
Romijh Church was accepted by the rev. gentle- 
man, and led to a controverfy in which he 
difplayed extraordinary learning and rare argu- 
mentative capacity. For a time the letters of 
" Horace Bentley" under which fignature he 
wrote, were pretty generally afcribed to the Rev. 
Dr. Hooij then Dean of Worcefter. The con- 
troverfy ended in the Papift publicly confeffing 
himfelf beaten by the fources of argument agreed 
upon, viz., the Chriftian Fathers. It was in 
connection with this controverfy that the Univer- 
fity of Glafgow conferred upon him the honour 
of LL.D. y and fhortly after a fimilar honorary 
degree of D.D. was conferred by the Univerfity 
of Philadelphia. 

Dr. Redford was a great fupporter of the 
Literary and Scientific Inftitution then exifting 
in this city ; he was among the earliefl: antago- 
nists of church-rates and the corn-laws, and was 
a frequent contributor to the magazines and 
reviews. During his paftorate in this city the 
doctor had the honour of being chofen Prefident 
of the Congregational Union, and delivered the 



Independents. 137 

cuftomary feries of lectures. Thefe attracted 
much attention at the time, and were afterwards 
publifhed under the title of Holy Scriptures 
Verified^ or the Divine Authority of the Bible 
Confirmed^ &c, a work much eulogifed by 
literary and biblical critics of the day, and con- 
flicting, I believe, a mafterly prefentation of 
all the chief arguments bearing on the fubjeft. 
Dr. Redford alfo wrote The Life of the Rev. John 
Cooke ^ and The Paftor's Sketch Book. He was 
editor with Dr. Leifchild of the Evangelift^ a 
book for young minifters, befides which he pub- 
lifhed various fermons, lectures, effays, and 
addrefles. He was conftant and earneft in plead- 
ing the caufe of the Bible Society, of all miffionary 
fchemes, of the Anti-Slavery Society, and always 
ready to lend his aid in promoting objects of 
piety, charity, or benevolence. 

In 1855 Dr. Redford met with an accident 
while travelling in Wales^ by which his hand was 
much injured. This was followed by the deceafe 
of a beloved wife, and the mock thus occafioned 
fo far weighed down a highly nervous tem- 
perament that he was compelled to refign his 
minifterial duties, to the great regret of his con- 
gregation, who expreffed their high fenfe of his 
fervices by voting him an annuity of 100/. for 
life, and a fum of more than 1,400/. was raifed 
for his benefit. 



138 Worcefter Sefts. 

Since his retirement from a&ive life, Dr. 
Redford refided at Edgbafton, Birmingham^ oc- 
cafionally vifiting Worcefter^ and fo lately as the 
firft Sunday in March, i860, he adminiftered the 
ordinance of the Lord's Supper in Angel Street 
chapel. His health then began to fail more 
rapidly, and on the 16th of May following he had 
an apople£Hc feizure, and fank down, exclaiming 
as he fell, " There is no more death." From this 
time he lingered in an infenfible ftate, without any 
fign of pain or fuffering, until the following Sunday 
evening, May 20th, when he breathed his laft, 
in his feventy-fifth year. His remains were in- 
terred in the graveyard at the back of Angel 
Street chapel, on which occafion the Rev. T. 
R. Barker^ tutor of Spring Hill College, Bir- 
mingham^ delivered a moft impreffive addrefs, on 
the words " BlefTed are the dead that die in the 
Lord" On the following Sunday alfo the Rev. 
Dr. Vaugkan came fpecially to preach on the 
folemn event. The Rev. gentleman took for 
his text — Ephejians iv, part 12 v. : u For edifying 
the body of Chrift." 

The duty of the Chriftian miniftry (he faid) 
was to edify or build up the church, which was 
the body of Chrift; and he enlarged upon the 
obligations under which that congregation lay in 
having been Hefted with fuch a miniftry. The 
Chriftian difpenfation, he proceeded to (how, 



Independen ts. 139 

was in itfelf unique : there had been previoufly 
nothing like it in the world ; the Pagan prieft- 
hood of the eaftern world was but a profeffional 
thing, for the benefit of a clafs, while the people 
were left unheeded in flavery and fin ; the Greeks 
and Romans had fchools of philofophy where 
a felect few were taught, as in colleges, and 
paid for their inftruction. Even the church of 
God in patriarchal times faw nothing like the 
Chriftian plan of teaching the people, for the 
inftrucliion derived from their prophets was fome- 
what of a private character, and voluntary and 
occafional, rather than the refult of a fyftem. 
The yewijh fynagogue was the neareft approach 
to that teaching of the people which was now 
enjoyed, and the preacher gave an interefting 
defcription of the period of yewijh hiftory when 
fynagogues were firft eftablifhed. But it was 
referved for Chrift to bring a new light from 
heaven upon humanity 7 — to introduce a new 
power in the earth, by preaching the Gofpel to 
every creature, the poor as well as the rich. 
Some thought the pulpit had now had its day 
and was becoming effete, but he earneftly denied 
this, for feeble as their miniftrations might be — 
and none could feel more deeply their inability 
always to fay wife things, or to fpeak the truth 
in the beft manner, than the preacher himfelf — 
yet no doubt the pulpit was an inftitution of GW, 
pregnant with intereft to the race of man both in 
this world and in the next ; and the people were 
bound to make a right ufe of that inftitution. 
No one could efcape accountability by keeping 
himfelf beyond the range of the preacher's voice : 
there was God's meffage delivered, and he who 



140 Worcefter St 

refilled to hear it mull: be everlaftinglv imperilled 
by his contempt. Here the preacher gave an 
analvfis and claiTification of thole who had for 
manv years fat under Dr. Redfant* miniftrv, 

many of whom had probably heard him without 
effect, though fome had brought forth fruit abun- 
dantly. To all thefe he made an earneft appeal 
that the voice of him, who, M though dead, vet 
fpeaketh," fhould be heard with greater effect 
from the tomb. Then the Rev. gentleman gave 
a juft and glowing fketch of the deceaied's 
character as a minifter and a man ; and with 
regard to Dr. RedfbnFs literary attainments he 
faid that nonconformift minifters were placed in 
circumftances peculiarly unfavourable for author- 
fhip, the great bulk of their time being ablbrbed 
in the duties of their office ; under other circum- 
ftances their deceafed pallor might have produced 
works which the world would not willingly have 
let die. The preacher concluded by a beautiful 
application of Dr. Redfcrd's dying expreiTion, 
11 There is no more death/*' 

The Rev. TV. F. Humdall, Ph.D., ALA., of 
Bi/hop Stcrtford) fucceeded Dr. Redford, and was 

ordained in November, 1857. ^ n tne following 
year it was determined to rebuild the chapel, the 
bad arrangement and inconvenience of the old 
building having long been felt by this large and 
increafmg fociety. Air. Alderman Padmore (now 
M.P. for JForcefte?') gave the munificent donation 
of 1000/., and feveral other leading members of 
the congregation 500/. each for this purpofe. 



Independents* 141 

The new edifice, which coft nearly 5800/., was 
opened on the laft day of May, 1859. ^ * s an 
impofing building, with a fine Bath ftone femi- 
circular portico of four columns and two pilafters, 
twenty-five feet high, with well-carved capitals. 
The dimensions of the interior of the chapel are 
feventy-nine feet by fifty-nine feet ; height of 
dome, forty-four feet; accommodation for up- 
wards of 1000 perfons. The walls are covered 
with French grey and vermilion ftencillings, and 
the galleries are lavender, picked out with white 
and gold. Two galleries encompafs the whole 
chapel, except on the weft fide, where there is a 
recefs, flanked by Corinthian columns and pilafters 
eighteen feet high, fupporting an entablature and 
femicircular arch ; behind this is a femi-dome, 
with fmall ftained-glafs window at top. The 
recefs enclofes a fmall gallery for fingers, and an 
elaborate pulpit is reared in an enclofed fpace in 
front of the recefs. 

With all my admiration for the liberality, {kill, 
and tafte exhibited in this new ftru£ture, I cannot 
but exprefs my regret that fo munificent an outlay 
{hould have been fpent on a claffical building, 
inftead of producing one much better adapted 
for the purpofe. The architecture of Greece and 
Rome was never intended for tranfplantation into 
the foggy, cold, and rainy climate of the Britijh 
ifles, befides which there can be no necefiity for 



142 Worcefter Sefts. 

Chriftians to fall back upon Pagan refources 
when they have at hand fuch wealth of materials 
in the various developments of the Gothic — a 
ftyle or rather feries of ftyles completely identi- 
fied with the hiftory and progrefs of Chriftianitv, 
and in even 7 way more fitting for adoption in 
this country, whether as regards climatic con- 
federations or the htnefs of its afibciations as 
connected with the Chriftian worfhip. If it be 
urged that mediaeval architecture is objectionable 
on the fcore of its connection with Popery, then 
I fay let us abandon the beft of mufic, the fineft 
painting, and the innumerable good things of life 
in which the jolly ecclefiaftics of the middle ages 
indulged ; let us retain nothing good which was 
fhared by them, or which they brought to per- 
fection before Lathe?' nailed his colours to the 
maft. I have fomewhere read of fome Scotch 
Prefbvterians who carried out their deep-rooted 
oppofition to Rome even in the mode of their 
executions, and when two women were con- 
demned to die for their attachment to the Romijh 
creed it was decided not to ufe the ftake and the 
faggot— fire being a Catholic prefcription — but 
the very oppofite element of water, and fo the 
poor wretches were fattened in a river, up to 
their chins, that the firft " frefh " which came 
down mould deprive them at once of mifery and 
of life. The Independents of the nineteenth cen- 



Indep en den ts. 143 

tun* ought furely to get rid — not of their hoftility 
to what they believe to be error, but of that 
childifh fpirit of oppofition which refufes even 
good things when they have been originated by a 
proicribed faith. Since the above was written 
I am glad to obferve that in many parts of 
England diiTenters have mown themfelves not 
afhamed of their own national Chriftian archi- 
tecture. 

At the opening of the new chapel in Angel 
Street the fervices were performed by the Rev. 
Dr. Hurndall, his father, the Rev. TV. A. 
Hurndall, of Bijhop Stortford, Rev. T. Greenfield, 
of Kidder/ninfter, Rev. T. Dodd, of the Countefs 
of Huntingdon's chapel, JVorcefter, Rev. S. Mar- 
tin, of JVeftminfter, and Rev. Newman Hall, of 
Surrey chapel, London (fon of Air. J. V. Hall, 
formerly bookfeller, of JVorcefter). The col- 
lections amounted to upwards of 275/., including 
10c/. from Mr. Lajlett, then M.P. for JVorcefter. 
In the afternoon 150 of the members and friends 
fat down to a collation at the Guildhall; T. R. 
Hill, Efq,, then Mayor of JVorcefter, prefiding; 
and from a fpeech then delivered by Kis Wor- 
fhip I have derived fome of the materials for the 
early hiftory of the fociety. On the following 
Thurfdav the firft marriage in the new chapel 
was celebrated, the happy parties being Air, 
"John JVigley, of AjVoourne, Derby/hire, and Mife 



144 Worcefter SeSfs. 

Emma Martin^ the youngeft daughter of Mr. 
C. Martin^ of this city, who for many years 
has been aflbciated with the Congregational 
church. According to cuftom a handfome 
family Bible was prefented to the young couple. 

During the erection of the new chapel, the 
Mufic Hall in the old Corn Market had been 
hired for the purpofe of congregational worfhip ; 
and the hall being a large building, not well 
adapted for the tranfmiffion of found, Dr. Hurn- 
dall fuffered fo much from an affection of the 
throat that for a long time he was unable to 
difcharge his minifterial functions, being affifted 
by " fupplies " from other places ; and at length 
he was compelled, in February, i860, to refign 
his brief paftorate. 

The prefent minifter is the Rev. John Bartlett^ 
who was for feveral years co-paftor with the 
Rev. Dr. Bennett^ at the Falcon Square chapel, 
London. He commenced his miniftry here on 
Sunday, Auguft 19th, i860, by preaching two 
admirable fermons to very numerous and refpecSt- 
able congregations; taking for his texts — I 
Corinthians i, 23 : " But we preach Chrift cruci- 
fied, unto the Jews a {tumbling block, and unto 
the Greeks foolifhnefs. Thejfalonians iii, 1 : 
" Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of 
the Lord may have free courfe and be glorified, 
even as it is with you." 



Baptifts. 



u Though different creeds their prieftly robes denote, 
Their orders various, and their rites remote, 
Yet one their voice — their labours all combined — 
Lights of the world, and friends of human kind : 
So the bright galaxy o'er heaven difpiays 
Of various ftars the fame unbounded blaze, 
Where great and fmall their mingling rays unite, 
And earth and ikies exchange their friendly light." 

Columbiad. 




MONG the earlieft diffenters from 
the Chriftian church were thofe 
who oppofed the pra&ice of infant 
baptifm. As early as the fifth cen- 
tury, ecclefiastical councils found 
it neceffary to decide againft and anathematife 
them as fchifmatics ; but it is rare indeed that 
opinions are put down by oppofition — a fa£t 
which finds a remarkable illuftration in the cafe 
of the Baptifts, who in the twelfth century are 
faid by Mojheim to have amounted to 8 o,ooo. 
The Rev. F, Bofworth (Briftol) remarks that 
the views of the Baptifts could only have been 
manifefted by their oppofition to infant baptifm, 



146 Wore eft er Seels. 

becaufe immerfion was regularly pra&ifed by the 
church, as proved by Bede and other early 
writers ; and in the conftitutions of the Bifhop 
of Worcefter, in 1240, it is written — " We order 
that in every church there be a baptifmal font of 
proper fize and depth, and that trine immerfion 
(three times) be. always practifed." The exift- 
ence of the Baptifts as a diftinct feci: did not 
commence till the days of Luther, when the 
name Anabaptifts was given them as one of 
reproach and contempt, their doctrine, it was 
believed, being blended with fanatical and lawlefs 
principles, oppofed to the morals and good order 
of fociety. Of the Baptifts in England prior to 
the Reformation but little is known ; but their 
name then appears among the various fects who 
were ftruggling for civil and religious liberty. 
Crofby ftates that about 1532 the Baptifts began 
to be publicly known and perfecuted, and in 1535 
ten Anabaptifts were put to death in fundry 
places of the realm. In a lift of books publifhed 
by "John Ofwen, the firft printer in Worcefter, I 
find an octavo (date 155 1), A Dialogue between 
the feditious Anabaptifts and the true Chriftian, 
about Obedience to Magiftrates ; and (fame year) 
The moft frutefull Dialogues, treating upon the 
Baptifm of Children, very neceffarie to be rede of all 
Chriftians in thefe moft parylloufe tymes ; by John 
Heron (or Veron). Under Henry VIII the Bap- 



Baptifts. 147 

tifts were exempted from every aft of grace, 
imprifoned, tortured, burnt, and banifhed. Eliza- 
beth was not far behind in her cruelty to them : 
and it was in relation to these unhappy viftims 
of Proteftant perfecution that Fox addreffed his 
well-known letter to that Queen, begging that 
" the piles and flames of Smithfield, fo long ago 
extinguifhed by yr happy government may not be 
revived." It was not till the end of the fixteenth 
century that the Baptifts in England began to 
affume a denominational pofition. Dutch Bap- 
tifts fought a fhelter in this country from the 
perfecutions of their own land. Here they 
formed churches; and Englifh Baptifts who had 
refided in Holland returned home early in the 
feventeenth century, and fpread their opinions 
widely. In 1640, there were five Baptift con- 
gregations in London, and throughout the pro- 
vinces churches were rapidly gathered by Cox, 
Oates, Denne, Jeffry^ Fijher, Miller, Gifford, and 
Tombs. The latter laboured in Wore eft erjhire and 
the adjoining counties: "but Coppe (fays Baxter) 
baptifed more than any other man I ever heard 
of, witnefs JVarwickfhire, Oxford, and part of 
Worcefter." In Auguft, 1642, the Anabaptifts are 
claffed with "Popifli recufants and other fepa- 
ratifts," in a declaration made by the Grand Jury 
for the county of Worcefter, which was affented 
to by the Sheriff, as alfo by Lord Coventry and 



148 Wore eft er Seels. 

other magiftrates, pledging themfelves to mainta fl 
the Protectant religion againft all fe&aries. By 
the year 1649 ^ e Baptifts had "lifted up 
heads and increafed above all the feds in 
land," and the principal officers in ; " the 

regiments had adopted their principles; but 
after the restoration of royal tv, articles of vifita- 
tion were exhibited to miniiters, churchwardens, 
and others, making inquiry, among other things, 
for M convicted Papiits, known Anabaptii:s." 
&c, who were to be diligently looked after in 
even 7 parifh. About the year 1653 the Baptdfts 
united in an aflbciation. The Midland Aflb- 
ciation, formed in 1655, reprefented Warwick^ 
Moreton, Bourton-on-the-Water^ AJafter^ Tewkef- 
bufjy Hook Norton , and Derby. Worce \er is fup- 
pofed not to have formed a leparate congregs 
of Baptifts till three or four years after that dj.:e j 
nor did thev join the aflbciated churches till 
probably about 1701, although ten yd&rs before 
that period twelve affociations had been formed, 
confifting of 107 churches. 

In many of the early Bap tilt churches were 
men of enthuiiaitic minds, who were eafily 
wrought upon by the extraordinarv events of 
thofe ftirring times, and by their eccentric.:" and 
ftrong language brought great difcredit on the 
body to which they were attached. In the rime 
of Cromwell fome of thefe enthufiaits believed 



Baptifts. 149 

themfelves to have been commiffioned by God 
Himfelf, and appeared regardlefs of earthly con- 
trol : prominent among thefe were Teakes and 
Powell, of Blackfriars, who introduced into their 
fermons moft of the fubjects debated in Parlia- 
ment, and advocated the principles of their feci: 
with a force and extravagance at once fanatical 
and fantaftical. Their favourite topic was the 
Dutch war : God, they maintained, had given 
Holland into the hands of the Englijh ; it was to 
be the landing place of the faints, whence they 
mould proceed to pluck the Whore of Babylon 
from her chair, and eftablifh the kingdom of 
Chrift on the continent ; and when Cromwell 

declined to carry out their extreme views he was 

j 

publicly denounced in their fermons as the beaft 
in the Apocalypfe, the old dragon, and the man 
of fin. Teakes and Powell were fummoned 
before him to anfwer for their language, but they 
repeated it to his face. The Dutch ambaffador 
went to hear thefe men preach, u but good God" 
fays he, "what cruel, and abominable, and moft 
horrid trumpets of fire, murder, and flame !" It 
was clear the Protector was afraid of meddling 
too much with thefe firebrands, of whom there 
were many both in the army and the Parliament 
who entertained republican opinions and were 
adverfe to Cromwell } s affumption of fupreme power, 
though the great body of their congregations 



150 Worcefter Sefts. 

wifely fubmitted to his government. Mr. Bare- 
bone, the paftor of a Baptift church in Fleet 
Street, gave name to CromwelFs little Parliament, 
of which he was a prominent member. Some 
Baptift s alfo were admitted into CromweWs com- 
mittee of triers, for the felection of fitting cler- 
gymen for the various parifhes throughout the 
country. 

The Baptift ranks were much thinned, about 
the year 1650, by new fe6ls arifing out of the 
agitated waters of the great ocean of religious 
controverfy. Among thofe new lights were 
Diggers, Levellers, Ranters, and Quakers. The 
Diggers firft appeared in Surrey, digging the 
commons and planting them with roots, faying 
that the time was arrived when the people were 
to be reftored to freedom and to enjoy the fruits 
of the earth. But the Quakers were the moft 
uncompromifing opponents of the Baptifts, and 
feveral of the manifeftoes or confeffions of faith 
put forth by the latter in the feventeenth century 
were aimed againft the obnoxious followers of 
Fox , who put no faith in ordinances, or means of 
grace, or the Scriptures as a rule of faith or 
practice. Many of the Baptift members were 
excommunicated for adopting thefe doctrines. 
Baxter, and other good and moderate men who 
in vain attempted to conciliate the difcordancies 
and amalgamate the various fe£ts of Proteftants, 



Baptifts. 151 

by propofing the adoption of certain, general 
principles of communion whereby they would 
have been placed on the fimple ground of the 
fincere profeffion of our common Chriftianity, 
complains ftrongly of the belligerent propenfities 
of the Baptifts and their oppofition to all over- 
tures for peace and unity : 

"The Anabaptift party," he fays, cc confifted 
of fome (but fewer) fober, peaceable perfons, 
orthodox on other points, but withal of abun- 
dance of young, tranfported zealots, and a medley 
of opinionifts, who all hafted direftly to enthufi- 
afm and fubdivifion, and by the temptation of 
profperity and fuccefs in arms, and the policy of 
fome commanders, were led into rebellious and 
hot endeavours againft the miniftry and other 
fcandalous crimes, and brought forth the horrid 
fects of Ranters, Seekers, and Quakers, in this 
land. * * * There were but few of them 
that had not been the oppofers and troublers of 
faithful minifters, in this way ftrengthening the 
hands of the profane." 

Yet at another time he fpeaks in a more 
kindly tone : 

" For the Anabaptifts themfelves (though I 
have v/ritten and faid fo much againft them), as 
I find moft of them were perfons of zeal in 
religion, fo many of them were fober, godly 
people, and differed from others but on the point 
of infant baptifm, or at moft in the points of pre- 
deftination, free will, and perfeverance." 



152 Wore eft er Seels, 

And notwithftanding their oppofition to other 
fe&s, and efpecially to the Eftablifhed Church 
(whofe edifices they were wont to denominate 
" fteeple houfes"), and although they fuffered 
much perfecution, even during the Common- 
wealth, they take the credit of having always 
inculcated and practised liberty of confeience. 
One of their number — Roger Williams — is repre- 
fented by the hiftorian of the Baptifts in America 
as the firft Governor who proclaimed and prac- 
tifed that liberty towards all denominations of 
Chriftians. Neverthelefs this toleration did not 
extend to the two great bugbears of Prelacy and 
the Papacy, which all claries of diflenters felt to 
be a common ground for the concentration of 
their forces in the great battle againft thofe who 
carried the mark of the beaft. 

Among the diftinguifhed men who in the 
feventeenth century efpoufed the Baptift caufe 
were Mr. Robert Brown, of White Lady Afton, 
Mr. Francis Cornwall, M.A., Emmanuel College, 
and Mr. John Tombes, B.D. 

In Palmer's Nonconformifts' Memorial, vol. iii, 
p. 413, is as follows : 

" Mr. Robert Brown, of White Lady Aft on, 
was a Fifth Monarchy man, and wrote againft 
hearing the parifh minifter. Dr. .Stillingfieet 
remarked of his Jerubbaal, that it contained the 



Baptifts. 153 

fubftance of all that had been faid by the old 
Brownifts. He was generally efteemed a good 
fcholar ; he died at Plymouth in confequence of 
exceffive preaching. He appears to have been 
of the Baptift denomination. Crojby mentions 
him, but adds nothing to the above account. 
Mr. James fays there was a Baptift minifter of 
this name, and doubtlefs the fame perfon, who in 
1670 refided in London , and in 1678 at Worcefter. 
He was that year invited to fucceed Mr. Hard- 
caftle, at Broadmead, Brlftol ; but in April, 1679, 
he was fettled at Weftmancote^ Wore eft erjhire. In 
an account of the Baptift church at Plymouth it 
is faid they gave their unanimous call to the Rev. 
Robert Brown, a minifter of PW^baptift* per- 
fuafion, then preaching at Worcefter. The letter 
is dated 30th of nth month, 1687. Mr. Brown 
accepted the call,. but the happinefs the church 
promifed themfelves from his piety and talents 
was of fhort duration, for after enjoying them 
about three months this good and great man fell 
afleep in the arms of his Redeemer, 22nd Feb- 
ruary, 1688. As a tribute of regard the church 
erected a monument in their meeting to perpetuate 
his memory." 

Mr. Tombes (mentioned above) was an excellent 
difputant, who had been educated at Oxford, and 
was well verfed in Greek and Hebrew. To this 
great and good man's adherence to Baptift views 
may be attributed much of the fuccefs and ad- 
vancement of that caufe in Wore eft erjhire and the 

# Thought to be a miftake. 



154 Worcefter Seels. 

furrounding diftricte. Through his influence 
with the committee of triers, and the high efti- 
mation in which his character was held, many 
Baptift minifters were affigned to church livings 
in this county. Tombes was born at Beirdley 
in 1603, an ^ having made rapid proficiency 
at Oxford^ became lecturer at Magdalen Hall 
at the age of twenty-one, and fubfequently 
adopted Baptift views. He laboured at JVorcefter, 
Leominfter, Rofs, Bewdley, Hereford, Ledbury, 
Brlftol, London, and other places, and was 
one of the moft popular preachers of his day. 
He formed the Baptift churches at Bewdley, 

» Leominfter, and Hereford, argued in Latin with 

the Affembly of Divines, and had the beft of it 
in a public difputation with Baxter, which took 
place at Bewdley on New Year's Day, 1649, 
before a crowded audience. After a chequered 
career, during which he held feveral church 
livings, leclurefhips, &c, was ejected, fled from 
place to place, robbed, and once narrowly efcaped 
with his life, he retired to Salijbury at the 
Restoration, married a rich widow, conformed to 
the church (though only as a lay communicant), 
and died at the age of feventy-three. He had the 
advantage of Baxter both in learning and argu- 
ment, and it required no fmall fhare of both to 
put to filence the many enemies of the Baptift 
creed and difcipline, who were conftantly putting 



Baptifts. 155 

forth the grofTeft calumnies, founded on a fmall 
modicum of apparent truth. Their protefts and 
replies to thefe calumnies may be found in their 
confeffions of faith edited by Mr. Underhill in 
1854. As a fpecimen of the ridiculous matters 
brought to bear againft them, it may be here 
ftated that D 9 Ajjlgny names, on his lift of Ana- 
baptifts, the " Leg-of-mutton Baptifts," fo de- 
nominated becaufe at the celebration of the 
Lord's Supper they were faid to fit down at table 
and feaft themfelves with legs of mutton and 
other meats. But the fact was, that in thofe 
days many of the congregation came from far, 
and it was necefTary after the communion that 
they fhould be refrefhed before being difmiffed 
to their diftant homes. The records and con- 
feffions of the Baptifts bear on their face the 
character of truth and honefty, fufficiently to 
refute the calumnies circulated againft them ; 
and in regard to confcientioufnefs and felf-denial 
I may be allowed to make one brief quotation 
from the books of Fenjtanton church, where, in 
January, 1694, one John Cropper was baptifed, 
and™-" Obferve (fays the record) it was at that 
time a hard froft and deep fnow, and yet no hurt 
enfued : God will be honoured in His own ways, 
and protect His fervants in the obeying of His 
commands. Let none be afraid to venture into 
the water when the feafon is cold, left they 



156 JVorcefter Seels. 

be laid in their graves before the weather be 
warm. — ■ "John Cropper, fenior elder." 

The Baptift fociety at JVorcefter feems to have 
been eftablifhed about the year 1658, under the 
paftorate of Mr. Thomas Fecknam ; but the Re- 
ftoration of Charles II, the Savoy conference, the 
Act of Uniformity, and other meafures taken bv 
the enemies of religious liberty, reduced the non- 
conforming generally, and the Baptifts in parti- 
cular, to a diftreiTmg condition. Fecknam was 
foon loft fight of, and the fociety at JVorcefter 
was broken up for about eight years. By the 
Town/end MSS. I find that on the 28th of 
March, 1661, Air. Townfend and Mr. G. 
Symonds, two of the JVorcefierfhire juftices, re- 
leafed out of the Caftle gaol at JVorcefter fourteen 
Baptifts and a great number of Quakers, on 
their promife to appear at the next gaol delivery. 
In the JVorcefter county records, the gaoler's lift 
of prifoners in the year 1667 included Thomas 
Fecknam, who was faid to be a leader of the 
Quakers, and who had then been in gaol three 
years for refufing to take the oath of allegiance. 
No doubt this was the Baptift minifter, as the 
various religious denominations were often con- 
founded together in thofe times. Thomas Feck- 
nam had now and then fome liberty accorded to 
him, but the gaoler reported that " this kindnefs 
had wrought no conformitie or fubmiffion in him." 



Baptifts. 157 

The meetings of the Baptift Midland AfTo- 
ciation alfo were difcontinued or held in great 
fecrecy till 1690, it being unfafe for diffenting 
minifters to appear in public, although at the 
fame time Roman Catholics were coming forth 
from their lurking places and were received 
gracioufly by the King. Vernier's infurreclion 
gave occafion and excufe for an order in Council, 
followed by a proclamation, forbidding all fectaries 
to meet in large numbers or at unufual times, 
though the Baptifts, Independents, and Quakers, 
feverally publifhed their deteftation of Venner's 
proceedings and urged their prayer for toleration. 
The Prefbyterian clergy, too, were expofed to 
rude infults, pretended plots were laid to their 
charge, and many of them being ejected from 
the church, joined the Baptift and other congre- 
gations. In 1664-5 trie Conventicle and Five- 
Mile Acts became law, and were followed by the 
Teft A£l. Diffenters' meetings were then broken 
up or expofed to gangs of vulgar informers. Be- 
tween the years 1660 and 1688 it has been 
eftimated that 60,000 nonconformifts were in- 
carcerated, 5,000 of whom died in prifon, while 
their confifcations and lofs of property amounted 
to between twelve and fourteen millions fterling ! 
Baptifts at that time were hotly perfecuted ; and 
as they held their meetings in fecluded places, fpies 
everywhere abounded. The governor of Deal 



158 I Fore eft er Seels. 

Caftle, a bitter opponent of the Baptifts, hearing 
that a few of them intended meeting in a lonely 
field in that neighbourhood, determined himfelf 
to apprehend them : noifeleffly approaching, he 
heard their voices — liftened — found they were 
praying for him— returned without attempting 
their capture — became deeply impreffed — joined 
the very body he had perfecuted, and was their 
paftor. Such periods indeed try men.* 

In this ftate of things it need fcarcely be laid 
that the Baptift fociety in Wore eft er again fuffered 
greatly, and independently of ftate perfecution 
they feem to have loft ground by internal divifion, 
as about that time a Mr. Par doe was minifter 
of a feparate congregation of Baptifts here ; 
and from a document which I fhail fhortly 
produce it would appear that he entertained 
Arminian views of univerfal redemption, fuch as 
are adopted by General Baptifts, while the old 
ftock were probably Calviniftic, or Particular 
Baptifts. William Parcloe was imprifoned at 
Woreefter in 1664, for nonconformity, and con- 
tinued in confinement nearly feven years ; and in 
the gaoler's lift of prifoners in Woreefter prifon for 
the year 1667 and again in 1683 ne figures as a 
Quaker ; but, as I have before ftated, the officials 
of thofe days were not exact in their defcriptions. 
He afterwards travelled on foot from place to place 

* See paper by Rev. F. Bofouortk, Briftol. 



Baptifts. 159 

to preach, and was the author of feveral works. 
He died at Worcefter in 1692, after having feen 
the interior of many prifons, and being excom- 
municated, was faid to have been buried in a 
garden in Lowefnoor, where his body, with that 
of his wife, were difcovered early in the prefent 
century while fome perfons were digging for 
building purpofes. Mr. Chambers, the author 
of Biographical Illuftrations of Wore eft erjhire, 
ftates that fome perfons then remembered the 
ftone which had been erected to his memory, 
and adds that there was at Leominfter a full 
account of Mr. Pardoe in MS. Crofby fays, 
" Mr. William Pardoe was a worthy, humble, 
felf-denying preacher, and a great fufferer for his 
religion — a very ufeful man, and blelTed with 
great fuccefs in his minifterial work. He lived 
moitly about Worcefter, was sometimes in Leicef 
terjhire, fome times in Yorkjhire, and wrote fome 
part of his Bethania's Walks in Worcefter prifon, 
and fome part of it in Leicefter prifon." 

Mr. Eccles, paftor of the Bromfgrove congre- 
gation, and who had been baptifed by Mr. Tombes, 
was a fevere fufferer by the perfecution, being 
feized while preaching, greatly abufed, and put 
into a dungeon in Worcefter gaol, and here it was 
ftated " he might have lain, had not his Divine 
Matter raifed him up a friend in Mr. Swift, who 
was one of the members for the county of 



i6o 



Worcefter Serfs, 



Worcefter" To the honour of that gentleman 
be it recorded that he was not afharned of the 
caufe of a poor imprifoned Baptift minifter, but 
was bound for him in the fum of 1,000/. in order 
to procure his liberty. Mr. Eccles commenced 
his calling when but a youth, at the age of fifteen 
or fixteen, being known as " the boy preacher." 
Judicious people, however, will never value very 
highly the crude fruit of fuch precocious preach- 
ing, forced to a certain ripenefs before its time. 
Robert Hall and many other great orators had 
occafion to lament the miftakes made in their too 
early efforts, and probably a larger number of 
authors the cacoethes fcribendi which firft induced 
them to write. A magazine contributor has 
fuccinctly exprefled a wholefome opinion on this 
point : "Let us (fays he) have the mature thing: 
give us intellectual beef rather than intellectual 
veal." An elegy written on Mr. Eccles' s death 
contained the following ftanzas : 

"With fervent zeal the Gofpel feed he fows, 
Which Bromfgrove, Beivdley, largely from him mows ; 
In active youth and manhood there his charge, 
Chfiffs work he plies with approbation large." 

Under James II the condition of diffenters 
was fomewhat ameliorated, for although that 
monarch was no friend to them or their caufe, he 
promoted toleration to a certain extent, in order 
that the Catholics might receive the benefit of it. 



Baptifts. 161 

When the King was at Worcefter the neighbour- 
ing diffenters of all denominations fent their 
addreffes to him, which the Earl of Plymouth, 
being Lord Lieutenant, was to receive and 
deliver to the King. When he brought the firft 
two, the King afked him what religion the men 
who brought them were of. " Indeed, fire," 
replied the Lord Lieutenant, l< I did not afk 
them ; but I know by their looks they are neither 
of your religion nor mine." 

JVilliam III brought no fmall peace to the 
troubled land by his Toleration Aft, in confe- 
quence of which the reprefentatives of ioo 
Baptift focieties (including five from the [Midland 
Affbciation) affembled in London^ organifed their 
new affociations, and agreed to a confeffion of 
faith in thirty- two articles. The focieties in the 
Midland AfTociation were then the following : 
Warwick, Moreton, Tewkejbury, Hook Norton, 
Alcefter, Br o?nf grove, Dymock (now Upton) Here- 
ford (including Leo?ninfter), and Kilby, in Leicef- 
terjhire. Bromfgrove is the mother church of the 
affociation, having been eftablifhed between 1650 
and 1660, when Mr. Eccles preached both there 
and at Bewd/ey. 

It was not till three or four years after the 
Toleration Ac!:, which gave liberty and freedom 
to all religious denominations except Catholics, 
that the Baptift congregation at JVorcefter was 



1 62 Worcefler Setts. 

again conftru&ed " in proper Gofpel order," as 
their own record ftates ; but as that event, 
together with a brief record of the hiftory of the 
TVorcefter Baptifts, is detailed in the " church 
book" belonging to that fociety, and probably- 
written by Mr. Bel/her, their paftor, in 1796, I 
now proceed to quote therefrom as follows : 

" The church book belonging to the Baptift 
fociety meeting in Silver Street, Worcefter^ 1796; 
Mr. William Beljher, paftor. 

" Dr. Calamy in his Abridgment, vol. i, p. 29, 
fays that at Bewdley there was a church of Ana- 
baptifts. At TVorcefter the Independents gathered 
a church. This feems to refer to the time 
between 1649 and 1660. By that account it 
appears there was no Baptift church at Worcejter 
about 1649, though fome of that denomination 
might be in connexion with the Independents 
there at that time, or foon after, which was the 
cafe then in feveral parts of England and Wales. 
There is now before me (writes Mr. Bel/her) an 
old book* belonging to the Baptifts at Worcefter, 
bearing this title: A Book of the Records of the 
Church of Chrifty in Wore eft er, made in the 
eleventh month of the year 1658. By Thomas 
Fecknam; conffting of Believers baptifed with 
water in the name of the Lord fefus. There it is 
obferved that they were diftinguifhed from the 
Independents and others. The motto in that 
title page is Acls xxiv, 14 — c But this I confefs 
unto thee, that after the way which they call 

* Not now to be found.— y. A T ., i860. 



Baptifts. 163 

herefy, fo worfhip I the God of my fathers' — a 
motto generally adopted in Baptift publications 
and confeffions of faith of that period — adapting 
it to a church, and not a fingle perfon. The 
next leaf begins thus : c The names of the mem- 
bers of the church, both brethren and filters.' 
The firft name is Thomas Fecknam, and with him 
feventeen men and twenty- one women ; in all 
thirty-nine members. This was a confiderable 
church at that time. But it does not appear that 
Mr. Fecknam did write any more in the book 
than the title page and the names of the mem- 
bers as already noted, and fome queries refolved 
at Alcefter by the meflengers of the aflbciated 
churches met there the 12 and 13 day of the 
fecond month, 59 ; at which time the church of 
Chrift at Worcefter tendered with them by mutual 
confent. Two of thofe queries were from Wor- 
cefter. The Reftoration of Charles II happened 
about thirteen calendar months after that meeting 
at Alcefter. The Baptifts and other noncon- 
forming were then violently perfecuted through 
the land, and probably thofe at Worcefter felt 
the force and feverity of the times. It's very 
probable that Mr. Fecknam was the minifter of 
this young church at the beginning, but whether 
he were a native of Worcefter^ or near it, I know 
not, nor is it eafy to determine. The name of 
one of the women members recorded by him 
is Sarah Fecknam. As he wrote no more in the 
book, probably the perfecution drove him away 
and fcattered his flock. * In the general aflembly, 
at London^ in September, 1689, Thomas Fecknam 

* He was imprifoned in Worcefter gaol for fome years.— See p. 156. 



164 



Wore eft er Seels, 



is named paftor of the Baptift church at Sand- 
wich^ Kent; probably this was the fame perfon, 
fettled there in the courfe of the long perfecution. 
In the narrative of the afTembly in London^ 
1692, he is named as paftor of the fame church. 
I have before me a printed elegy compofed on 
his death, which happened in October, 1695, in 
the fixty-eighth year of his age. There it is 
noted he began to preach very young, fo that he 
was called the preaching Baptift boy, and that 
he was in the miniftry upwards of fifty years, 
and fix years in prifon. There is a great charac- 
ter given him in the elegy. I fuppofe he was 
the perfon that gathered the firft Baptift church 
at Worcefter. The following article is fufficient 
to fhow the ftate of things about Wore eft er at 
that time. Dr. Calamy, in his account, vol. ii, 
p. 776, after he had given an account of the 
hardfhips suffered by feveral nonconformift mi- 
nifters in the county, fays — c Such things as thefe 
were common, it feems, in thefe parts in thofe 
times, for one Mr. Robert Humphrys^ an Ana- 
baptift preacher, an inhabitant of the parifh of 
C/aines, about two miles from Worcefter, for 
preaching in his houfe, had by a warrant of Col. 

S 5 of O ,* three cows taken from him, 

worth about 12/., and all the corn in his barn, 
worth about 15/., and all the* goods in his houfe 
that were of any value, and could never get any- 
thing reftored.' In the fame page he fpeaks of 
Mr. Pardoe, as noted above. This fhows what 
fufferers our denomination were then in and 
about Worcefter. Mr. Pardoe was imprifoned at 

* Probably Sandys of Omberjley. 



Baptifts. 165 

IVorcefter in 1664, and continued there near feven 
years. 

" The next page in the Worcefter records runs 
thus — 'The restitution of the church of Chrift 
at Worcefter the 10th of the 12th month, 1666, 
to her communion and fellowfhip with Him in 
His holy institutions and ordinances, according 
to her firft love and willing obedience from a 
deep fenfe of her backfliding from Him. Re- 
folving in His ftrength for the time to come 
to cleave unto Him with purpofe of heart.' 
This was full eight years after the firft formation 
in 1658, but it appears here they had backflidden 
and gone out of order within thofe troublefome 
times. On this restitution their names are put 
down, being but eleven men members and ten 
women — in all twenty-one. Among the men 
there are but three or four of the former names, 
and about the fame number of the former women. 
In thofe few years many of them were either 
dead or difperfed into different parts of the coun- 
try ; yet it appears that feveral of the twenty- 
one had been baptifed by fome minifters fince the 
firft formation. Mr. Pardoe was now in prifon 
in this city, and had by fome means a fociety 
diftin£t from the newly reftored church. Probably 
fome of the former were now gone to him. 
The difference between Mr. Pardoe was partly, 
if not chiefly, about the extent of the death of 
Chrift, He acknowledges that he held univerfal 
redemption, but in the preface to his Bethania 
he fays that he was charged with many other 
things. Of the church reftored in 1666, it 
appears they had no minifter at that period. 
The firft name in the lift of members is John 



1 66 Worcefter Sefis. 

Edwards^ who I fuppofe was a gentleman that 
lived afterwards near Leominfter, and a worthy 
member there many years. There it is noted 
c he was brought very early to Chrift in his 
young and tender years, and was a great en- 
courager of believers in the ways of Godj when 
he lived in Worcefter? This inclines me to 
believe he was the chief man in the church 
at the time we are now upon. 

" By the records it looks as if Mr. Elijha 
Hathaway was the fecond perfon that joined this 
church after the reftitution near the clofe of 
1666. There are no dates in the records from 
the year now mentioned to 1692, except on the 
death of a few members, nor any church trans- 
actions recorded during that period, except a 
legacy received of Mr. Philip Bearcroft, given 
by his mother, to be difpofed at the difcretion of 
Mr. William Pardoe to the poor of this fociety. 
It will appear below that Mr. Hathaway above- 
named began to preach in this church about 
1674, or poffibly fooner, as he was then about or 
near forty years of age. He was very ufeful in 
this fociety through many years of perfecution 
and trouble. 

" Though this church was of fo long {landing, 
it was not fet in proper Gofpel order, it feems, 
till the following date. This is in the record : 
c At a meeting held the 27th day of the 5th 
month, 1692, when the congregation enter' d 
covenant with the Lord and one another, then by 
the free choice of the whole our beloved brother 
Eli/ha Hathaway was by them nominated to 
be their paftor. At that time were eleited 
William Randal and William Charles elders, 



Baptifts. 167 

Mathew Handy and Richard Hampton deacons.' 
By the records I conclude that all this was done 
by the church without any affiftance from other 
minifters. It is recorded in the book that to 
that day the church had not been a regular 
fociety. There were fet down twenty articles 
of belief, or confeffion of faith, and feven articles 
as a church covenant ; then the names of the 
members, men and women, as figning the whole. 
The newly chofen paftors, elders, and deacons, 
figned firft ; all the men members, fourteen, and 
the women, twenty — in all thirty- four. It is 
remarkable that of the twenty in 1666, there is 
but one of them in the lift 1692, in the courfe of 
twenty-fix years. This imperfect fituation ac- 
counts for their not being in the general aflembly 
in London^ 1689. 

"Before the above meeting, 1692, I conclude 
from Mr. Holder's MS. that Mr. Hathaway was 
about to leave Worcefter. He was in London 
about a year and half, and Mr. Holder fupplied 
at TVorcefter. Very probably it was after Mr. 
Hathaway' f s return that the above fettlement was 
made in the church. Notwithstanding the above 
regulations in 1692 it feems there were fome not 
quite fatisfied, for it is recorded in the book that 
upon the 7th day of the 2nd month, 1 702, ac- 
cording to an appointment of the church and by 
the hand of our beloved brother, John Willis of 
Aulcefter, and brother "Jos. Price of Tewkejbury^ 
brother Hathaway was ordained the paftor of 
this church, and brother Hornibloiv and brother 
Thompfon ordained elders, and brother Handy and 
brother Troort ordained deacons. Now T they 
were brought into the common way, and very 



1 68 Worcefter Setts* 

probably into the connection alfo, for I find that 
the Affociation was at Worcefter the preceding 
year, 1701. 

" As Mr. Pardoe was fo long in prifon here 
and had a fociety in this place, died and was 
buried here, it may be right to fay a little more of 
him. Mr. Holder, in his MS., fays, 4 I will 
mention Mr. Pardoe, from whofe miniftry I had 
moft foul benefit, and may truly account him my 
fpiritual father in the Lord. He lay in Worcefter 
gaol feven years for confcience fake, and came 
out wonderfully improved in divine knowledge 
and minifterial abilities. He travelled on foot 
from place to place to preach the Gofpel, and 
was put into Leicefter prifon, where he lay about 
nine months. After fome years he was put into 
Hereford prifon, where he lay about four years, 
but neither his fufferings, his great labours, nor 
his various afflictions, did in the leaft abate his 
love to Chrift and the fouls of men. He was a 
fpecial inftance of the power of fupernatural 
grace, and a great promoter in my faith of God, 
fidelity to His covenant, and the veracity of His 
promifes. He died in Worcefter , leaving a fweet 
favour of Chrift, alfo his Bethania, and a divine 
paper called The Mariner's Compafs, alfo many 
divine letters written to his friends when he was 
in prifon, a collection of which I have in my 
poffeffion ; by all which being dead he fpeaks. 5 
Thus far Mr. Holder. Thofe good letters are 
perifhed, I fuppofe. His Bethania and Compafs 
fell into my hand, and I have them ftill. Mr. 
Pardoe died in 1692, as noted already. Very 
probably his fociety at Worcefter after his death 
joined the other church in that city. In the 



Baptifts, 169 

Hiftory of Bridgnorth^ in the double le£tures ap- 
pointed there, it appears that Mr. Hathaway was 
to preach at four of thofe lectures appointed then. 
There was no minifter but Mr. Hathaway ap- 
pointed fo many times to preach, not even Mr. 
Thomas of Per/hore^ who was then in the prime 
of life, about thirty years of age, and Hathaway 
about feventy-two, as that was in 1706, which 
mows how acceptable the latter was and how 
ftrong his conftitution was at that age. Thus 
this great and heroic fervant of yefutChrift con- 
tinued in his Mafter's work till he was called 
to reft in a good old age. Mr. Holder in his 
MS. fays, c Mr. Hathaway was paftor of the 
Baptift congregation in the city of Worcefter 
nearly forty years, and died in 17 14, aged up- 
wards of eighty years, under whofe miniftry I fat 
often with much comfort and edification. I have 
thought him fometimes, I confefs, too warm and 
zealous againft the rites and ceremonies and cor- 
rupt traditions in the eftabliihment, we having our 
liberty as dilTenters ; but he was a plain evangelical 
minifter of the Gofpel and did much good. He 
had a great experience of a faving work of grace 
upon his foul, and fo clear evidence of his intereft 
in Chrift and the covenant of grace as carried 
him through all his afflictions. On his death-bed 
he praifed God that he had no cloud in his fpirit 
or doubt in his foul about his future happinefs ! 
Hence the reader may fuppofe that Mr. Holder 
miftook in faying that Mr. Hathaway had been 
near forty years paftor of the church ; but the 
former was well acquainted with what was done 
in 1692 and 1702, and with the labours of the 
latter for forty years. He meant, I fuppofe, that 



iyo 



Wore eft er Seels. 






the latter did the work of a paftor all that time, 
whatever was fuppofed to be done in 1692 and 
1702. By another hand I am informed that Mr. 
Hathaway had fuffered fo much from the eftab- 
lifhment that after the Revolution he was very 
fevere upon them at times. Preaching con- 
cerning God making a hedge round his people, 
he faid, c it was a thorn hedge, and many of the 
bifhops have torn their lawn fleeves in attempting 
to break through it.' It feems the meeting houfe 
at TVorcefter was built in his time, for I am told 
that he was buried in it, and that now the table 
pew is upon the graveftone that it cannot be 
feen. The report is, that in his time the place 
was crowded, that perfons were obliged to go 
before time in order to get a place. Since the 
above was written, the infeription on the grave 
was found to be thus — 'Here lieth the body of 
Mr. Eli/ha Hathaway^ Gofpel minifter, teacher, 
and paftor of the congregation forty years ; having 
finifhed his work by the will of God he fell 
afleep in Jefus the 17th September, 17 14, aged 
eighty-one. 5 

" Mr. Hathaway was fucceeded by Mr. Ifaac 
Poynting ^ who came from near Froome^ Somerfet- 
fhire. The records name above feventy, who 
feem to have been added in Mr. Hathaway' } s 
time, 1702, and a few after Mr. Poynting came. 
The book after was moftly blank paper. Mr. 
Ifaac Poynting died 5th May, 1740, aged fixty- 
eight, paftor of this church twenty-five years. I 
do not know of anything remarkable in the 
church during his time. It is uncertain whether 
the Affociation was at Wo re eft er before I70i,but 
page 41-2 above fhows that it was there in 1701, 



Baptifts. 171 

1707, 1715, 1721, 1725, 1738, 1754, 1767, and 
1780. 

" Mr. Ifaac Poynting was fucceeded by his fon, 
Mr. John Poynting. — (See biographical account 
of him in Baptift Regijter, vol. i, p. 510.) 

" After the death of Mr. John Poynting (who 
was minifter here for half a century), the church 
was deftitute of a paftor from October 6, 1791, 
till the fettlement of Mr. William Bel/her, Decem- 
ber 7, 1796. In 1795 the circular letter men- 
tions 'Brother Daw/on' as then Supplying at 
Wore eft er J and he was appointed to preach at 
the next affociation meeting at Dudley. That 
letter was addreffed to c the elders and meflen- 
gers of the feveral Baptift churches meeting for 
Divine worfhip at Bewdley, Birmingham, Brett ell 
Lane, Cofeley, Dudley, Eve/ham, Leominfter, Per- 
Jhore, Ryeford, Shijfnall, Tewkefbury, Upton, and 
Woreefter.' The circular letter for 1 796 mentions 
Woreefter among feveral other churches having 
experienced gracious revivals, and adds concern- 
ing Woreefter that there had been no additions 
before for nine years, but this year both the 
congregation and the church have been favoured 
with pleafing additions." 

Here we quit Mr. Beljher's MS., and proceed 
with the hiftory from other fources. The mem- 
bers who figned an addrefs to Mr. Beljher (who 
had come from Briftol) in July, 1796, requefting 
his acceptance of the Woreefter paftorate, were — 
Wm. Fitzer, Jas. Harrifon, Jojhua Pitt, Saml. 
Barnard, Thos. Page, Mathew Griffiths, Saml. 



1 72 Worcefn 

Nicholas , A r . Wilhughby^ Mary Butler, Ann A 
pas, Eliz, Sanders, Mary Robinfon^ Eliz. Hinton, 
Ann Nicholas, Mary Day, Sarah Pitt, Eliz. 
Blackwell, Eliz, Alatley, Mary Perm (or Perm), 
Ann Hunt, Eliz. Harper, Eliz. Br: 
Laurence, and Eliz. Wat kins. It has bee:" 
ftated that a chapel was built in Silver Street 
during Mr. Hathaway \- lire : that building re- 
mained till the year 1796, when Mr. Beljhei 
became pallor. It was then taken down and 
a new one erected. It is a proof of the good 
feeling which exifted among the diiTenting con- 
gregations in Worcejier at that time, that the Inde- 
pendents lent Mr. Beljber their chapel while the 
new Baptiit chapel was being erected, and he 
accordingly preached to his congregation at 
" Angel Raw* chapel/'" as it was called, till the 
opening of that in Silver Street, on July 27th, 
179". On this occaiion fermons were preached 
by the Rev. S. Pearce, of Birmingham^ the Rev. 
James Smith, and the Rev. Air. Buttcriuorth. 
It feems that the erection of this chapel got the 
fociety into trouble, for Willoughby the carpenter 
entered an action againft them for a debt, which 
was the caufe of a conhderable miiunderftanding 
between Air. Beljber and his congregation, fo 
much lb that the ordinance of the Lord 's Supper 
was fulpended for half-a-vear. JVilloughhy, how- 

* It is called "Angel Lane meeting houle " in another place. 



Bapti/ts. 173 

ever, appears to have behaved difhoneftlv, and 
was excommunicated, or expelled the fociety, 
and the debt was at laft compromifed. 

Air. Beljher refigned the paftorate, from illnefs, 
on the 25th October, 18 17. At that time the 
number of members was 112, and it is a fingular 
fact that up to this period there had been but 
four minifters to the Baptift chapel for 143 
years. 

Henry Page, A.M., accepted the invitation of 
the fociety to become its paftor, November 21, 
181 7. He was "a ftrong tempered man," and 
is laid to have come to JVorcefter fortified with 
feveral hundred fermons which he had collected 
from a variety of fources to fave himfelf the 
trouble of compofition. It is probable that his 
hearers, who greatly difapproved of this plan 
of providing them with divinity, neverthelefs 
derived an advantage from it, as fuch pillagers 
have generally the good tafte to felect far better 
productions than they themfelves are capable of 
giving birth to. Mr. Page, I fear, left behind 
him a character far different from that prolific 
divine, Dr. Litchfield, rector of All Saints, 
Thames Street, who, in 1447, bequeathed to 
pofterity no fewer than 3,083 fermons written by 
his own hand. During Air. Page's miniftry the 
firft mention is made of the introduction of gas 
into the chapel, in February, 1823. This minif- 



174 Worcefter SeSfs. 

ter refigned in June, 1827, and died at Boulogne^ 
in 1833. The nu *nber of members was 150 at 
the time of his refignation. 

Thomas Waters , M.A., who came from Per- 
Jhore, fucceeded Mr. Page on November io, 
1827, and refigned from illnefs Auguft 31, 1838. 
He died in two months afterwards. The num- 
ber of members was then 199. During his 
miniftry, namely, in 1829, the chapel was con- 
fiderably enlarged, a piece of ground adjoining 
having been purchafed for the purpofe at a coft 
of 275/. The Worcefter Herald of Auguft 28th 
in that year fays — " The Baptift chapel in Silver 
Street, in this city, having undergone confider- 
able enlargement, rendering it capable of feating 
a congregation of 700, was on Wednefday morn- 
ing (Auguft 26) reopened for Divine worfhip, 
and a fermon preached by the Rev. Robert 
Hall, of Briftol, and formerly of Leicefter, from 
Timothy iii, 5 : c The power of godlinefs. 5 The 
preacher delivered a difcourfe of great power and 
eloquence to a highly refpedtable though not 
a large congregation ; collection, 45/. 15*. In 
the evening the Rev. y. F. Leifchild^ of Briftol^ 
preached a no lefs admirable and appropriate 
fermon, from Pfalm cxlix, 2, and further col- 
lections were made amounting to 17/. 131. 6d," 
The total receipts of the day, including donations, 
amounted to 84/. 17s. 2d n which, with the fund 



Baptifts. 175 

collected by the paftor and that previously raifed 
by the friends in Wore eft er^ through the perfonal 
efforts of the paftor, was nearly fufficient to 
meet the whole of the expenfes, about 1000/. 
The chapel has long fince been free from debt. 
In the Baptift regifter I find that Mr. Waters*, 
at one period of his miniftry, found it extremely 
difficult to preferve difcipline in his congregation, 
a laxity of conduct among many members of the 
fociety being perceptible, and differences arifing 
on the fubjecT: of admitting Paedobaptifts (thofe 
who baptife infants) to partake of the com- 
munion with them. In the year 1834 a meeting 
was called, at which the minifter requefted the 
deacons to fay whether they had confidence in 
him, and would fupport him in the temperate, 
firm, and fcriptural adminiftration of that dif- 
cipline which alone could reftore purity, peace, 
and profperity to the church. There were fixty- 
fix hands held up for him and only five againft. 
Some members were then excluded, others with- 
drew, and a refolution was paffed — 

" That any member refiding within reafonable 
diftance who mail not regularly attend upon the 
miniftry of the paftor, or being abfent on three 
fucceflive fabbaths from the Lord's Supper, ihould 
be vifited by the deacons, and if not give fatif- 
factory reafons fhould be feparated from the 
communion." 



176 Worcefter SeSfs. 

In April 21, 1834, an entry occurs in the 
regifter — 

" At a church meeting it was refolved to 
permit Mrs. Sanders, a pious Paedobaptift, to 
commune with us at the Lord's table, but not 
to be a member of the church." 

This refolution feems to have given diflatis fac- 
tion to feveral members, and Mrs. Sanders kindly 
refigned the privilege ; but about five years 
afterwards the fociety wifely adopted the fol- 
lowing refolution, by fifty-nine to ten : 

" That in future, pious Paedobaptifts be ad- 
mitted to partake with us the Lord's Supper, but 
not to be confidered as members of the church 
or entitled to vote in church affairs." 

On the 20th of May, 1839, Enoch Williams 
became paftor, but refigned in January, 1841 ; 
the number of members then being 195. 

William Crowe, of Hackney, accepted the paf- 
' torate on the 31ft of May, 1841. He originally 
was an Independent, and became a miflionary at 
Travancore, having been trained for mifiionary 
work at the Go/port College. He was a man 
of ftern and unbending principle and irreproach- 
able life ; his preaching was chiefly doctrinal, 
but it had the great advantage of earneftnefs and 
confiftency in the preacher, whofe life agreed 



Baptijts. 177 

with the precepts he uttered. He was ever in 
the foremoft rank of the promoters of focial pro- 
grefs and reformation, and gave his aid to every 
movement having for its object, the advance- 
ment of civil and religious liberty. The writer 
of thefe pages will have long impreffed on his 
memory the aflbciation of good men belonging to 
various denominations whom he was in the con- 
ftant habit of feeing on public platforms, uniting 
in their advocacy of every good caufe and ftimu- 
lating their fellow citizens alfo to lend their aid ; 
among thefe the four moft prominent were the 
Rev. John Davies (Church of England)^ Dr. 
Redford (Independent), Mr. Crowe (Baptift), 
and Samuel Darke (Quaker). Three of thefe 
have been but recently removed from us, but 
their works do follow them, and their memory 
will be bleft to fucceeding generations who may 
have profited by their labours or heard of their 
good example : 

" How bleft the righteous when he dies ! 
When finks a weary foul to reft, 
How mildly beam the doling eyes 5 
How gently heaves th' expiring breaft ! " 

During Mr. Crowe's paftorate of Silver Street 
chapel fome considerable defections took place 
from the fociety, efpecially in 1844, when feveral 
of the members embraced the profeffion of 
Plymouth Brethren, and others in 185 1 the 



i 7 8 



Worcefter Seels. 



frightful doftrines of Mormonifm, to the great 
grief of the paftor and the reft of the congrega- 
tion. The regtfter during Mr. Crowe's time 
contains nothing further worthy of note (beyond 
difmiflals for drunkennefs, inconfiftent conduit, 
&c.) than that in 1849 lt was decided that the 
Lord's Supper fhould be adminiftered after mor- 
ning fervice inftead of afternoon; and in 1855 
the Rev. jf. J. Waltes fyftem of pfalmody was 
adopted. This fyftem of choral harmony pro- 
duced an effedt fo ftriking, that in no congre- 
gation in Worcefter is the folemn aft of praife 
performed in a more chafte and appropriate 
manner, a corre£t knowledge of part finging 
having been obtained, and the tunes adopted 
being no longer a collection of ftreet ballatry, 
but fine old harmonies gleaned from the beft of 
fources. It is to be regretted that our church 
choirs did not avail themfelves more largely of 
Mr. Waiters fervices. That gentleman, who 
refided at Hereford, paid occafional vifits to this 
city, where, although completely blind, he in- 
ftru£ted large clafles in facred pfalmody, with a 
fuccefs which had hitherto been without pre- 
cedent here. Mr. Crowe remained at Worcefter 
for fixteen years, refigning his miniftry in 1857, 
and Mr. Sturmer (the prefent minifter) was ap- 
pointed his fucceflbr in January, 1858. He is 
the fon of the Rev. F. Sturmer, Reftor of Heap- 



Baptifts, 179 

ham, Lincolnjhire, was brought up for the church, 
educated at Merchant Taylors' School, London, 
and Grammar School, Huntingdon, entered at 
St. jfobn's College, Cambridge, and was baptifed 
by the Rev. Baptift Noel in 1856; he fubfe- 
quently entered the London Univerfity. The 
number of members in i860 was 200, with 269 
fcholars and twenty-eight teachers. 

No feparate congregation has fprung from 
Silver Street, and the moft profperous periods of 
the denomination were during the paftorates 
of Mr. Hathaway and Mr. Bel/her. 

Baptifts now fubfift under two denominations, 
General Baptifts and Particular Baptifts. The 
latter defignation is given to thofe who hold 
Calviniftic views, and who are in every refpe£t 
but their diftincStive doctrine the fame as the 
Independents. General Baptifts maintain the 
docEtrine of univerfal redemption ; but they are 
divided into the Old Connection (Unitarian) and 
the New Connection (Trinitarian), the latter 
being by far the moft numerous. Among both 
the Particular and General Baptifts there is 
another ground of feparation, relating to the 
terms of communion at the Lord's Supper. Some 
churches (each fociety or congregation is a 
church) do not allow perfons who have not 
received baptifm according to their views of 
it to join with them in the celebration of this 



180 Worcefter Setts. 

rite. Of this number are fome of the Particular 
Baptifts, and all the New Connexion of General 
Baptifts. Others, however (and among them 
the Worcester fociety), do not fcruple to meet, on 
that occafion, not only thofe of the Baptift 
perfuafion, who hold other opinions widely dif- 
ferent from their own, but even perfons who do 
not embrace the Baptift tenets, provided their 
religious faith is in other refpefts, as they con- 
ceive, orthodox, and their lives conformable to 
their profeffion. This is called " open commu- 
nion \" and the tolerant fpirit which it cultivates 
is making rapid progrefs through the denomina- 
tion. The Worcefter fociety belongs in praftice 
to the General, although its conftitution was 
that of the Particular Baptifts. In Ireland and 
Scotland the Baptifts have many congregations, 
but neither there nor in this country do their 
opinions fpread fo faft as in the United States of 
North America.* 

Among the Baptift celebrities who have been 
connected with Worcefter^ both by intercourfe 
with their brethren here and preaching at Silver 
Street and Angel Street chapels, were Robert 
Hall and John Fofter. Hall's wonderful oratory 
is ftill remembered by many of the inhabitants. 
His moft noticeable addrefs here feems to have 
been at the reopening of the Baptift chapel 

* See M'j/heims Ecclefiaftical Hlftory. 



Baptifts. 181 

in 1829, on the fubjecl: of " The power of God- 
linefs." Hall's preaching has been not inaptly 
called " an illuminated ftyle," attractive as much 
from the glittering raiment and glowing di£tion 
in which his thoughts were clothed as from the 
intenfity of the thoughts themfelves ; but there 
was nothing of the tinfel about this : indeed, 
Hall denominated fancy preachers in general 
"fhe men," or "pulpit BeJJies." The precocity 
of Hall when a boy was fully indicative of his 
gigantic attainments in after life — which, how- 
ever, is by no means the rule with forward lads. 
His biographer tells us that he was wont to 
preach to his young companions when only 
feven years old; and it is alfo ftated that he 
delivered a public difcourfe at Briftol when about 
fourteen, at which period it was clear he could 
not have abandoned his boyifh love of fun, for 
about the fame time he took the trouble to 
defcend a chimney in North Street Academy, 
Briftol, for the fole purpofe of frightening a 
Weljh ftudent almoft out of his wits. Hall is 
known to have had his fplendid faculties be- 
clouded for a time under that malady which has 
been called " the infirmity of noble minds." 
This is faid to have arifen mainly from unrequited 
love ; an accomplifhed lady of his acquaintance 
(Mifs Steel) having refufed his offer. When ill in 
this ftate he was feen by a former deacon of his, 



1 82 Wore eft er Seels. 

for whom he never had a great affe&ion ; and in 
reply to his inquiry, as to what had brought him 
into that condition, he anfwered quickly, " What 
will never bring you to the fame ftate, fir — too 
much brain, fir." After his recovery his affidu- 
ous friends wifhed him to marry, and recom- 
mended a lady whofe over eagernefs offended 
him fo much that one day fhe met with a fad 
rebuff*, which induced her to fay, with all the 
bitternefs of a difappointed woman — " I am not 
polifhedy?^/ in your eyes, fir." " No, ma'am," 
faid he, " not polifhed fteel \ but I perceive you 
are burniftied brafs, madam — burnifhed brafs." 
Of courfe he never married the lady. Ha IPs 
biographer tells us he was a man of great cou- 
rage ; but it feems he was not at all infenfible to 
the inftinft of felf-prefervation, as the following 
anecdote will fhow. He was frequently invited 
to preach at the reopening of chapels, as at 
Wore eft er and other places, and on more than 
one occafion accepted invitations to preach at 
the Unitarians' chapel, Briftol (on which occa- 
fions he evinced great ingenuity to avoid giving 
offence). When Broadmead chapel, Briftol^ 
was enlarged in 1799, Hall (then at Leicefter) 
was invited to preach at the reopening, and as it 
was naturally conjectured that he would appear 
in all his power and brilliance, the building was 
crowded to excefs. A writer in a local paper, 
in defcribing the circumftance, fays-— 



Baptifts. 183 

"He was equal to public expectation — great 
throughout ; he was glorious in his conclufion ; 
to ufe his own phrafe, he c took the breath ' 
from his auditors, fome of whom, wifhing to 
leave off with the laft impreffion of his eloquence 
frefh upon their minds, endeavoured, by a demon- 
ftration which would only be tolerated in a place 
of nonconformift worfhip, to prevent the ufual 
clofing hymn and prayer — they fuddenly let 
down the reading flaps of their pews, as they do 
at the end of the fervice, and thefe, being newly 
painted, made fuch an unufual crackling noife 
that an alarm was raifed that the houfe was 
coming down. A cry that the galleries were 
falling, and another of c fire!' arofe, and a fear- 
ful rum was made to the doors. I do not know 
what the confequences would have been had not 
Dr. Ryland, who fat under the pulpit, with great 
prefence of mind, and in a voice heard above the 
rufh and tumult, exclaimed that there was no 
danger and that the alarm was unfounded. Order 
was reftored, and the DoCtor took occafion to 
offer a few folemn remarks upon the terror 
which had juft been allayed, afking them if they 
were fo frightened and appalled at the alarm of a 
fingle houfe falling, with what feelings would 
they be able to meet the wreck of matter and the 
crafh of worlds, or to hold up their heads amid 
the ruin and bruit of the Laft Day ? The appli- 
cation was fine, ftriking, forcible ; and Dr. Ry- 
land, feeing the congregation was then in a mood 
to be difmiffed, turning round, but without look- 
ing up at the pulpit, faid, c Mr. Hall, pleafe give 
the benediction.' But no benediction followed : 
Mr, Hally in the firft alarm, on the principle of 



184 Wore eft er Seels. 

fauve qui peut^ had cut, bolted, run ; never, as the 
tradition goes, turning to look back at the imagi- 
nary conflagration until he reached Dr. RylancTs 
houfe on the hill, when he told Mrs. Ryland (as 
he no doubt firmly believed) that Broadmead 
was by that time a heap of ruins." 

Mr. Hall had a great diflike to formality and the 
" fubjeft-propofing" ftyle. The authority whom I 
have quoted above relates that a ftranger had been 
introduced to him when he was not in the mood 
and did not like his man : after feveral unfuccefsful 
attempts to " draw him out," the vifitor gravely 
propofed the inquiry, u Whether, in a future 
ftate, the powers of the human mind would not 
expand and be enlarged to an indefinite degree." 
Hall called out, " What is that, fir ? Which is 
that ?" The queftion being deliberately re- 
peated with due emphafis, he quickly replied, 
" Why fo, fir ; why fo ? Why fuppofe the 
human mind indefinitely enlarged any more than 
the human body? And if the body is to under- 
go this frightful increafe, then we mould have a 
man whofe nofe would perforate the fun, his chin 
ftretching acrofs the Atlantic^ and battles fought 
in the wrinkles of his face. He muft be a fool, 
fir, that can believe in that." The poor querifl: 
was completely dumbfounded by this Johnfonian 
thruft. Of Halts perfonal habits the moft pro- 
minent was his paflion for fmoking, for which 



Baptifts. 185 

indeed his peculiar bodily ailment was fufficient 
caufe. He would not go into any company, 
however elevated, where he could not have his 
pipe, becaufe he could never be at eafe without 
it y but his temperance in fpirituous liquors 
would have fatisfied a teetotaller, though he was 
an inordinate drinker of tea : " Eighteen cups at 
a fitting, fir, and fome in a bafin, was no unufual 
allowance," faid a friend who had often been in 
his company. When in the pulpit he was fo 
wrapt and ab {trailed in his fubjecT:, that if he 
took up notes with him he invariably tore them 
in pieces, quite unconfcioufly to himfelf. In his 
table talk, when his brains were at work, he was 
equally oblivious as to what he was doing with 
his fingers. Once, after he had gone from the 
house, a lady mifled her teafpoons, and found 
them under the fofa cufhion, where Hall had 
infenfibly flowed them away while engaged in 
converfation. Of his fmoking, an anecdote is 
told, that after his " cloud " in the veftry, on 
one occafion, he perceived on going into the 
pulpit he had left his Bible behind him. He 
beckoned to the junior deacon and whifpered, 
" Bring my Bible " but in fo low a tone that the 
man thought he faid " my pipe." "What! 
into the pulpit, fir ?" afked the aftonifhed deacon. 
" Yes, yes," replied Hall impatiently, " to be 
fure, into the pulpit." The deacon went and 






1 86 Wore eft er Seels. 

quickly returned, ftealing up the pulpit flairs 
with fomething under his coat. The preacher 
ftooped to take his Bible, and, to his horror, faw 
a yard of clay inftead — fortunately, however, 
before any but a few in the immediate vicinity 
had noticed the circumftance. Hall died in 1832, 
and his flock buried him in the building where 
thoufands had often hung upon his accents. 
The copyright of his works fold for 4,000/. 
Fofter was a man fcarcely lefs eminent among 
the Baptift community. It has been juftly faid 
that " he was great upon paper, and with as 
much mental power as would have furnifhed a 
dozen decent intellects, he yet was never attrac- 
tive in the pulpit, and, by his own admiffion, 
preached away nearly every auditory over whom 
he prefided." He was unintelligible or too pro- 
found for a mixed audience, and moreover his 
manners were mifanthropic and his habits unfo- 
ciable, contemplative, and fecluded ; belides 
which it appeared he had no fettled creed beyond 
the broad and general principles of religion, and 
might as well have been of any other denomina- 
tion as a Baptift ; for in his life and correfpon- 
dence he admits that he had difcarded the idea of 
eternal punifhment, and was inclined to Arian 
do&rine. Indeed it is not improbable that the 
Baptifts would have difowned him had it not 
been for the eclat of his great abilities. A friend 



Baptifts. 187 

of mine heard him preach in Silver Street chapel 
on the fubject of " We brought nothing into the 
world, and it is certain we can carry nothing 
out j M and defcribes it as <c a Chriftless fermon, 
but full of amazing ability." He was a thin 
man, plainly dreffed, and fo regardlefs of exter- 
nals as to wear a piece of packthread for a watch 
guard. Another friend who well remembers 
him declares that Fofter was " a ftrange-looking 
being in whatever afpect he was viewed — fide- 
ways, back, or front." He was in the habit 
at one time of walking on Sundays from Bourton 
into Winchcomb, where he knew a Mr. Fijher, 
and a fhoemaker for whom he had a particular 
regard. At that time he ufually inverted his 
outer man in a fcratch wig, brown coat, red 
waiftcoat, with black breeches, white ftockings, 
and fhoes to match, owing to the duft. He 
occafionally preached at Winchcomb^ but no one 
in that enlightened village ever pretended to 
underftand him. I have fome where read of a 
preacher who once chofe for his fubjecT: a text 
from which to prove the exiftence of an over- 
ruling Providence. In the courfe of his fermon 
he ftarted and anfwered objections which the 
ruftic population had never before heard of. 
When he was leaving the church he found an 
old farmer waiting for him, who thus addrefled 
him in great wrath : u Mr. B , you are a 



1 88 Worcefter Setts. 



V ' 



great fcholard, they fay — it may be zoa ; but let 
me tell ye that, for all ye've faid this day, and for 
all ye can fay, for my part I do believe there is a 
Providence." Mr. Fofter was equally unintel- 
ligible ; but in his cafe the caufe was his ftyle 
being too fuggeftive, leading other people to 
think for themfelves, and merely opening to their 
mental perceptions fo many lengthened viftas of 
thought, adown which they were to penetrate by 
the force of their own efforts. But " the 
million" do not like this hard work; and hence, 
unlefs a preacher thinks for his hearers, he has 
but little chance of being popular. Yet one 
would think that Fofter's ftyle muft fometimes 
have aroufed thofe who had not entirely given 
way to dozing. In one of his fermons at Wor- 
cefter he ftartled his hearers by obferving that " if 
they all had the power of carrying into effect 
their own wifhes, how many dead bodies would 
be laid out in the morning !" This was a pretty 
direct flap for thofe who wifhed their rich rela- 
tions were " fallen afleep in Jefus^" not on 
account of the eternal peace and happinefs gained 
to the deceafed, but for the pecuniary advantage 
of the furvivors. The preacher was right: if 
we only loved our friends as well before they die 
as we do afterwards, what a beatific world this 
would be ! For foftening the heart, an hour's 
ftroll in a graveyard is worth all the fermons 






Baptifts. 189 

that were ever preached.* Fofter was an im- 
placable Radical, and fo much did he diflike 
the Eftablifhed Church that the mere fight of a 
fteeple offended him. A friend of his relates 
that on one occafion, while walking with him 
between JVorcefter and Perjhore, he paufed to 
admire the fplendid panoramic view ftretched out 
before him. At length his attention being drawn 
to the^ diftant time-worn tower of JVorcefter 
Cathedral, on which the fun was mining — cc Aye, 
aye," faid he, waving his hand impatiently, 
" there fhe is, fure enough, the onlv ugly thing 
in the whole fcene." Fofter profeffed a great 
diflike, too, for religionifts and preachers in dif- 
fenting ranks who made a merit of being igno- 
rant — for their narrow views, their lazinefs of 
mind, and uncouth language \ and his difguft 
at grimaces, poftures, nafal intonation, cant 
flang, degrading travefties and fimiles, and the 
undue fulmination of the horrors of hell, was 
apparently unfeigned : 

" You might often meet (fays he) with a fyfte- 

matic writer, in whole hands the whole wealth, 
and variety, and magnificence of revelation fhrink 
into a meagre lift of doctrinal points, and who 
will let no verfe in the Bible tell its meaning, or 
prefume to have one, till it has taken its ftand by 
one of thofe points. You may meet with a 

* Anonymous author. 



190 Worcefter Seffs. 

Chriftian polemic, who feerns to value the argu- 
ments for evangelical truth as anaflaffin values 
his dagger, and for the fame reafon \ with a 
defcanter on the invifible world, who makes you 
think of a Popifh cathedral, and from the vul- 
garity of whofe illuminations you are glad to 
efcape into the folemn twilight of faith ; or with 
a grim zealot for fuch a theory of the Divine 
attributes and government as feems to delight in 
reprefenting the Deity as a dreadful king of 
furies, whofe dominion is overfhaded with ven- 
geance, whofe mufic is the cries of vidlims, and 
whofe glory requires to be illuftrated by the ruin 
of his creation." 

Fofter's famous eflays (which have gone through 
numerous editions) were written at Frome — 
which fome one has compared to a cart-load of 
ftones thrown into a pit. Strange to fay, thefe 
fame effays were but amplifications of epiftles 
addreffed to the lady whom he afterwards mar- 
ried, and a very odd kind of love letters they 
certainly were ; inftead of flames, and darts, and 
vows, we have profound fpeculations on popular 
ignorance, and the connection of caufe and effect 
abftrufely traced. She is faid to have been a frigid, 
ftately fort of philofopher in petticoats, bearing the 
unromantic name of Maria Snook. Yet her mifan- 
thropic hufband murmured mournfully at her 
death.* He died at Stapleton^ near Briftol^ Octo- 
ber 15th, 1843, at tne a S e °f feventy-three. 

# See Brtftol Church-goer. 



Society of Friends. 



(t This world is a form ; our bodies are forms ; and no vifible act of 
devotion can be without forms. But yet the lefs form in religion 
the better, lince God is a fpirit j for the more mental our worfhip,. 
the more adequate to the nature of God; the more filent, the more 
fuitable to the language of a fpirit. Words are for others, not for 
ourfelves $ nor for God, who hears not as bodies do, but as fpirits 
mould. If we would know this dialect, we muft learn of the divine 
principle in us. As we hear the dictates of that, fo God hears us." 

William Penn. 



N the religious phenomena of the 
feventeenth century the eftablifh- 
ment of Quakerifm ftands out as 
one of the moft prominent fea- 
tures -, and in the mighty ebullition 
of public opinion which then fhook fociety to its 
foundation, among the landmarks around which 
men began to rally, none were more confpicuous 
than that fet up by George Fox. (Be it under- 
ftood that I ufe the term Quaker in the prefent 
chapter not in the contemptuous fenfe of its 
originator, Mr. Juftice Bennett, of Derby, but 
for the fake of convenience, and becaufe it feems 




192 Wore eft er Seels. 

that both Fox and his followers adopted the 
defignation without much demur.) The original 
Quakers were a very different fet of men from 
their paffive, quiet, and refpectable defcendants 
of the prefent day, for while evincing the courage 
of primitive martyrs in long endurance of even* 
kind of obloquy, fuffering, and wrong, they car- 
ried an aggreffive warfare into the camp of the 
enemy, violently denounced and challenged the 
fteeple-houfe prieft in his own pulpit, bearded 
the judge in his chair, and fhrank not from ufing 
the plaineft language even to the Majefty of 
England. In fuch an age of extreme opinions 
no wonder that enthufiafm became developed 
into fanaticifm, and that we read of a William 
Sympfon running naked through the ftreets of 
Eve/ham and other towns " as a prophetic warn- 
ing to the people," and a James Naihr at Briftol 
riding on a white horfe and profefling himfelf to 
be Chrift. Thefe extravagances, however, muft 
not be charged againft the whole feet, any more 
than the mummeries of the middle ages may be 
fet down to the fcore^of Chriftianity. Moreover, 
both William Penn y and Fox himfelf to (brae 
extent, difcountenanced thefe vagaries, nor was 
Naihr again received into memberfhip with the 
Quakers till he had recanted his follies. 

Calamy (who was a partiian oppofed to them) 
fays of the Quakers — 



Society of Friends. 193 

cc Their principal zeal lieth in railing at minif- 
ters, as hireling deceivers and falfe prophets, and 
in refufing to fwear before magiftrates. At firfl: 
they ufed to fall into trembling and fometimes 
vomiting in their meetings, and pretended to be 
violently actuated by the Spirit ; but now that 
has ceafed ; they only meet, and he that pre- 
tendeth to be moved by the Spirit fpeaketh, and 
fometimes they fay nothing, but fit an hour or 
more in filence and then depart. One while 
feveral of them went naked through many chief 
towns and cities of the land, as a prophetical 
aft. Some of them having famifhed and drowned 
themfelves in melancholy, others have undertaken 
by the power of the Spirit to raife them, as Sufan 
Pierfon did at Claines^ near Wore eft er, when they 
took a man out of his grave who had fo made 
himfelf away, and commanded him to arife and 
live ; but to their fhame. Their chief leader, 
Jas. Naylor, acted the part of Chrift at Brijtol^ 
according to much of the hiftory of the Gofpel, 
and was long laid in Bridewell for it, and had his 
tongue bored as a blafphemer by the Parliament. 
Many Francifcan friars and other Papifts have 
been proved to be difguifed fpeakers in their 
afiemblies ; but William Penn^ their modern 
leader, hath undertaken the reforming the feet, 
and fet up a kind of miniftry among them." 

The origin of Quakers may be dated from 
about the year 1650. Their founder, George 
Fox , was born in 1624; he was an unufuallv 
grave and thoughtful youth, and after a fuccef- 
fion of religious experiences, fome of which 



194 Wore eft er Seels. 

were of the moft fevere and trying character, he 
arrived at thofe convictions which he believed 
he was fent by God to propagate. His articles 
of faith were few : morality, mutual charity, and 
the love of GW, being the fundamental principles 
on which he mainly infifted. The religion and 
worfhip he recommended were fimple and with- 
out ceremonies : to wait in profound filence for 
the influence of the Spirit was one of the chief 
points he inculcated ; and it has been faid of him 
and his followers that they accounted ordinances 
as things which had arifen out of the bottomlefs 
pit, and ceremonies the invention of fallen man 
and mere tradition. An utter exclufion of all 
ftatuary, all picture, all architecture, all ritual, 
all fpoken prayer, was their practice ; they had 
no eye for the beautiful in form, no ear for the 
mufical in found, no foul for the eloquent and 
fublime in the offices of thanksgiving, meditation, 
inftruction, and prayer. In their violent on- 
slaughts on the eftablifhed clergy and other 
denominations (for they were peculiarly hoftile 
to Baptifts and Independents, and gathered nu- 
merous converts from their ranks) they made the 
great miftake of confidering that whatfoever was 
ufelefs or diftafteful to themfelves muft be of 
neceffity equally fo in the eftimation of Him who 
has obvioufly made His creatures to differ as to 
their taftes and preferences in circumftantials, 



Society of Friends . 195 

that they may ftill more clofely and delightedly 
agree in the eflentials of filial love towards Him 
and fraternal affection for each other. The 
Quaker, wrapt in his fpiritual exaltation, would 
have deprived his weaker brethren in the flefh of 
thofe adjuncts and incentives to piety which the 
taftes, the affections, and the fenfes of a highly 
cultivated nature can fupply, and without which 
their Chriftianity might frequently remain torpid, 
and cold;, and dim. Devotional appliances (if not 
confounded with effentials) have undoubtedly 
their true ufe in meeting the requirements of 
thofe to whofe nature and conftitution they are 
peculiarly applicable ; and while it is admitted 
that the humbleft brick building may contain 
many worfhippers of God in fpirit and in truth, 
let it never be believed that fplendid architecture, 
mufic, and indeed the arts and fciences generally, 
may not be rendered fubfervient to and the hand- 
maids of religion. 

The founders of new feels muft neceflarily be 
extraordinary men, but Fox was peculiarly fo. 
In his youth, when in diftrefs of mind, he applied 
to minifters of various denominations, but found 
no relief from any. The prieft of Mancetter 
prefcribed tobacco and pfalm finging, but Fox 
did not love the one, and was not in a ftate to do 
the other. At a very early period of his experi- 
ence he came to the decifion that an Oxford or 



196 Wore eft er Seels. 

Cambridge education was not fufficient to qualify 
a man to become a minifter of Chrift; and when 
at length he had arrived at thofe convictions by 
which he made his peace with GW, it is marvel- 
lous to note with what a right good will he 
proceeded to work. Entering parifh churches 
("fteeple-houfes," as he called them) — for when- 
ever a bell founded in his ear for fervice he was 
"moved againft the black earthly fpirit of the 
prieft," alleging that it was "like a market bell 
to gather people together, that the prieft might 
fet forth his wares to fell"— he would cry againft 
" the great idol (the church) and againft the 
worfhippers therein." Arriving near Lichfield 
on one occafion, and feeing the fpires of the 
city, " the word of the Lord came to me," fays 
he, and over hedge and ditch he went in the 
ftraighteft line poffible till he came thither ; and 
the Lord having commanded him to pull off his 
fhoes, he did fo, leaving them with fome fhep- 
herds juft out of the city ; then he walked 
through the ftreets, crying " Woe to the bloody 
city of Lichfield" having in his eye the early 
Britijh Chriftians who were faid to have been 
murdered there in the time of Diocletian. At 
Hotham church he was moved of the Lord to 
fay to the prieft, "Come down, thou deceiver j 
doft thou bid people to come freely and take of 
the water of life, and yet thou takeft 300/. a 



Society of Friends. 197 

year of them for preaching the Scriptures. 
Mayeft thou not blufli for fhame ? " When on 
a vifit to Warnfworth church, the prieft faw him 
and left off preaching, with the remark addreffed 
to Fox, " What have you to fay ? " And the 
intruder was about to anfwer, when the people 
rufhed upon him, thruft him out, and feverely 
beat him. He fearleflly " laid open" all fefts of 
Chriftians 5 taunted the Prelbyterians, when they 
concealed their devotional meetings under a 
fhow of pipes and ale, that although they had 
perfecuted others they flinched from it them- 
felves ; and when the Ranters of that day took 
tobacco and drank ale at their meetings, fung, 
whittled, and danced, as a part of their religion, 
he fo handled them that " at laft it became a 
dreadful thing to them when it was told them 
c the man in leathern breeches is come.'" Fox 
denounced idol temples, tithes, oaths, all kinds 
of earthly honours and pleafures, fports, recrea- 
tions,, and fine attire. He protefted againft 
" gaudy apparel and ftore of ribbons hanging 
about men's waifts, knees, and on their hats, 
of divers colours, red, with black or yellow, and 
their powdered hair — women with their gold, 
their patches on their faces, nofes, cheeks, fore- 
heads — their rings, their cuff's, double under and 
above, their ribbons tied about their hands, and 
three or four gold laces about their clothes." 



198 Worcefter Sefts. 

He wrote epiftles to priefts, judges, jurymen, 
and even to the King himfelf and to foreign 
princes, attended fairs, wakes, and races, where, 
fays he (believing himfelf to be infpired) " fo 
dreadful was the power of God upon me that 
the people flew like chaff" before me into their 
houfes." At Ulverfton church, where he "fpoke 
like a hammer," the building " fhook fo that 
prieft Bennett was afraid and trembled, and has- 
tened out for fear it fhould fall on his head." 
There muft have been fomething fuperhuman 
in Fox's countenance, for the effedt of his glance 
was faid to be irrefiftible. A Baptifl: deacon, 
who had the misfortune to be feverely caftigated 
by him, cried out, cc Do not pierce me fo with 
thy eyes ; keep thy eyes off" me." Fox confeffed 
that " he felt difpofed greatly to thrafh the chaffy 
light minds of the Baptifts," and once he tried 
his hand with Tombes^ who maintained that the 
inner light of man was a natural light, while Fox 
infilled that it was divine ; and a fore difputation 
they had, in which both parties claimed the 
vi£tory. Fox would take in hand any notoriously 
bad man, and feldom leave him before he had 
made fome impreffion, as was the cafe with one 
Mansfield^ who, at the clofe of their interview, 
is faid " to have had fcarcely any ftrength left 
in him." Again, he has been known to go 
boldly up to robbers and admonifh them in the 



Society of Friends. 199 

power of the Lord till they were glad to get 
away from him. He even ventured to counfel 
Cromwell himfelf on the fubjecT: of toleration and 
his propofed affumption of the kingly office. 
The Protestor had the good fenfe to take his 
remonftrances kindly, and as the Quaker was 
leaving his prefence, Cromwell^ with tears in his 
eyes, faid, " Come again to my houfe, for if thou 
and I were but an hour of a day together we 
fhould be nearer to one another." One of Fox's 
doctrines was that of perfectibility : he profefTed 
to feel himfelf pure, innocent, and righteous — 
could " fee into the invifible creation of God: 99 
wonderful depths opened to him, fo that he 
could difcern all the creatures of God ; he pro- 
fefTed to know the occult influences of phyfic 
and to difcern fpirits, as alfo the characters of 
men ; believed that he was commiffioned by God 
and travelled in His power, having been affured 
by the Lord that his name was written in the 
Lamb's book of life ; moreover he felt himfelf 
forbidden to put off his hat, to bid people cc good 
morrow," or bow, or fcrape with his leg. Great 
was the rage of priefts, magiftrates, profeffors, 
and people of all forts, at this want of refpeft, 
and on one occafion George Fox's primitive lan- 
guage brought down the following rough re- 
joinder : " Thou me ! thou my dog ! If thou 
thoueft me I'll thou thy teeth down thy throat !" 






200 Wore eft er Seels. 



Fox's love of the fupernatural was quite equal 
to that of the ecclefiaftics in the middle ages : he 
profeffed to fee vifions, difcern fpirits, and work 
miracles, fames Clay pole ^ of London , had a 
dreadful fit of the ftone ; the Quaker laid his hand 
on him, and prayed the Lord to rebuke the infir- 
mity, whereupon " the Lord's power went through 
him, he felt eafe, quickly fell afleep, the ftone 
came from him like dirt, and the next day he 
rode twenty-five miles in a coach." Fox cured 
one Richard Myer^ a lame man, by fimply telling 
him in the name of the Lord to ftand on his 
legs - y and at Mansfield a diftra£ted woman be- 
came quiet at his bidding. The gaoler at Leicefi 
ter was in the habit of fetting his maftifF upon 
fuch of the prifoners as he faw praying, but if 
any of them happened to be Quakers the dog 
refufed, and took the ftaff out of his mafter's 
hand ! Fox was once ftruck on the hand with a 
carpenter's rule, which fo benumbed the limb as 
to render it ufelefs, until cc looking at it in the love 
of God) in a moment the arm recovered ftrength." 
The priefts raifed reports that neither water 
could drown him, nor could they draw blood 
from him, and therefore he muft be a witch ; 
and no wonder that in fuch an age the com- 
monalty believed it. At fome place in Yorkjhire 
the people came profefledly to kill him, but 
could not becaufe they believed he had bewitched 












Society of Friends. 20 1 

them. Fox had a vifion of the Protector's death 
fhortly before it happened, and feven years before 
the Great Fire of London he faw the city, in his 
mind's eye, reduced to aflies, as it afterwards 
appeared ! A fortnight before the Long Parlia- 
ment was broken up he forefaw it, and alfo that 
the Speaker would be plucked from his chair. 
He foretold the defeat of the Turks when it was 
feared they would overrun Chriftendom ; and on 
one occafion in his chamber he faw the angel of the 
Lord with a drawn fword towards the fouth, and 
foon afterwards a war broke out with Holland. 
He difcerned an unclean fpirit in a woman at a 
village in York/hire^ fpoke fharply to her, and flie 
left the room x the people wondering, for they 
knew her to be a notorious character ; and one 
Gritton^ a Baptift fortune teller, he fent flying 
out of a houfe at Luton^ Bedford/hire^ fo that he 
came no more amongft them. 

The fufferings of this extraordinary man were 
incredible, in hunger and thirft, bufFettings, 
ftocks, imprifonment, horfewhipping, and cudgel- 
lings. He lay at times under hayftacks, in 
woods, or furze bufhes, during rain or fnow, or 
in dirty alehoufes, where he met with the rougheft 
of human kind, and occafionally experienced 
much danger from them ; he was hunted hither 
and thither like a felon or outcaft, yet inftead of 
hiding or abfconding he always boldly confronted 



202 Wore eft er Seels. 

his enemies. The priefts incited the people to 
introduce rotten eggs and wildfire and to beat 
drums at his meetings, and once he was fo beaten 
as to be left for dead on a watery common. " Oh/' 
fays he, " the blows, punchings, beatings, and 
imprifonments, that we underwent for not put- 
ting off our hats to men. Some had their hats 
violently plucked off and thrown away, fo that 
they loft them." Fox was imprifoned at Wor- 
cefter, Derby, and in many other gaols. At 
Launcefton, in 1656, he was put into a prifon 
called "Doomfdale," where murderers were con- 
fined, and where their filth had not been cleaned 
out for years, fo that he ftood over his fhoes in 
it, and neither bed nor ftraw was allowed him, 
fo that he had to ftand all night ; at length he 
procured a little ftraw, and burnt it to take away 
the ftench of his cell, but in doing fo he nearly 
fuffocated the gaoler fleeping in an upper ftory, 
who thereupon promptly revenged himfelf by 
pouring down upon the Quaker a large quantity 
of offenfive liquid, fo that he narrowly efcaped 
drowning. Fox fuffered much on account of his 
refufing to take up arms againft the King at 
JVorcefter fight. Juftice Bennett, of Derby, fent 
conftables to prefs him for a foldier on that occa- 
fion, but having refufed both money and threats, 
he was committed to a clofe confinement at 
Derby. A trooper whom he converted there 






Society of Friends. 203 

was at the Battle of Worcefter in the following 
year (1651), and when the two armies lay near 
one another two foldiers came out from the 
King's army and challenged any two of the Par- 
liamentary army to fight with them, whereupon 
this trooper's colonel made choice of him and 
another to anfwer the challenge ; in the encounter 
the trooper's companion was flain, but he (Fox's 
convert) drove both his enemies within mufket 
fhot of the town without firing a piftol at them ! 
This circumftance he narrated to Fox with his 
own mouth, " but when the fight was over he 
faw the deceit and hypocrify of the officers, and 
being fenfible how wonderfully the Lord had 
preferved him, and feeing alfo to the end of 
fighting, he laid down his arms." 

The founder of the Quakers firmly believed 
in the do£trine of retribution in this life, and 
while recording the frightful treatment experi- 
enced by " Chriffs lambs," and the heavy hand 
laid upon "the Lord's plants," he dwells with 
apparent fatisfa&ion upon the inftances which 
came to his knowledge of the righteous judg- 
ments of God upon the evil-doer. One who 
had falfely accufed Fox of pafling himfelf off as 
Chrift) he retorted upon by calling him a Judas^ 
and declaring that he mould meet with Judas' s 
end, which he did fhortly after by hanging him- 
felf. Juftice Sawrey^ another perfecutor, was 




204 Worcefter Sefts. 

drowned. At Droitwich^ in 1670, Fox fays in 
his journal, " TV. Cartwright was at a friend's 
houfe, and being moved of the Lord to fpeak 
a few words before he fat to fupper, there came 
an informer and ftood hearkening under the win- 
dow. He got a warrant to diftrain the friend's 
goods, under the pretence that there was a 
meeting there ; but as he came back with the 
warrant he fell off his horfe and broke his neck." 
A rude butcher at Halifax^ who had fworn to 
kill Fox, and was accuftomed to thruft out his 
tongue in derifion at Quakers, had that member 
fo fwollen that he could never draw it in again, 
and died fo ! And in Somerfetjhire & man who 
was lolling out his tongue at them in the ftreet, 
attracted a bull which had juft got away from a 
baiting, and the animal ftruck his horn under the 
man's chin and thruft his tongue out of his mouth, 
juft as he had been accuftomed to put it in deri- 
fion ! A Captain Drury, who was in the habit 
of fcoffing at the Quakers on account of their 
alleged trembling, was one night in bed feized 
with fuch a trembling that his joints knocked 
together, and he was fo fhaken that he had not 
ftrength to rife. Feeling the power of the Lord 
on him, he tumbled off the bed, and cried out 
that he would never more fpeak againft the 
Quakers ! Juftice Bennett (before mentioned), 
who was an Independent, had committed Fox to 



Society of Friends. 205 

prifon, and had derifively given him and his fol- 
lowers the denomination of Quakers, becaufe 
Fox had bade him tremble at the word of the 
Lord, afterwards declared that fome plague was 
upon his houfe and the whole town of Derby on 
account of Fox's imprifonment, and accordingly, 
when the latter had been in gaol for nearly a 
year, they turned him out. 

More of Fox's hiftory will have to be glanced 
at in the following pages ; but as what remains 
will be entirely in connection with the hiftory of 
the Quakers of Worcefter city and county, it 
muft come on in chronological order. It may 
now, therefore, fuffice to add that Fox died 
in the year 1690, in his fixty-feventh year — a 
good old age, when we confider the cruel buf- 
fettings to which for many years he had been 
expofed, and his mediant labours, not only in 
the United Kingdom, but in America, Germany, 
Holland, &c. 

It fhould be premifed that although Cromwell, 
General Monk, Charles II, and fames II, were 
all, more or lefs, in favour of toleration — though 
for widely different reafons — the unfortunate 
Quakers were almoft as bitterly perfecuted as 
the Catholics throughout the greateft portion 
of that period. The rival fefts, when they 
obtained power in Parliament, were headftrong 
and violent, againft the exprefled wifh of the 






206 Worcefter Seels. 

Protector ; the Long Parliament was efpecially 
cruel to the Quakers ; and after the reftoration 
of the kingly authority the frequent recurrence 
of plots and other caufes prevented the extenfion 
of that toleration which otherwife they might 
have gradually obtained. With regard to Crom- 
well^ he is known to have had a ftrong bias in 
favour of Fox and his followers, and never 
turned a deaf ear to them but at the inftigation 
of fome rival fe£t. A Quaker merchant once 
applied to him for redrefs, his veflel having been 
feized and confifcated on the coaft of France, 
The Protector fent him with a letter to Car- 
dinal Mazarin, demanding compenfation within 
three days, or to return. Shortly afterwards the 
Quaker again prefented himfelf before Cromwell^ 
who faid, " Well friend, haft thou thy money ?" 
"No," was the reply. "Then take no further 
trouble." The Protector feized the firft two 
French ihips within his reach, indemnified the 
Quaker, and paid the furplus to the French am- 
baffador. 

The firft recorded vifit of George Fox to Wor- 
cefter Jhire was in 1655. He had heard that the 
magiftrates of Eve/ham had caft feveral of his 
followers into prifon, and that, hearing of his 
coming, they had made a pair of high ftocks for 
the occafion. This, of courfe, only whetted 
Fox's appetite to go, and he fent for Edward 



Society of Friends. 207 

Pittaway, a Quaker who lived near Evejham, 
who informed him that the rumour was quite 
true. At night the two went into the town, 
and in the evening (fays he) cc we had a large 
and precious meeting." Next morning he rode 
to one of the prifons, and encouraged the friends 
there, among whom was Humphrey Smith, who 
had been a prieft, but was then a " free minifter 
of Chrift" When Fox had vifited both prifons, 
and was going out of the town, he efpied the 
magiftrates coming to feize him, u but the Lord 
fruftrated their intent, and the innocent efcaped 
their fnare, for God's power came over them all ; 
but exceeding rude and envious were the priefts 
and profeffors about this time in thofe parts." 
He went from Eve/ham to Worcefter, " and had a 
precious meeting there, and quiet ; after which, 
coming towards an inn, fome profeffors fell to dif- 
courfe with the friends, and were like to have 
made a tumult in the city. As we went into the 
inn, they all clattered into the yard, but I went 
among them and got them quieter. Next day I 
walked into the town, and had a great deal of 
difcourfe with fome of the profeffors concerning 
Chrift and the way of truth. One of them 
denied that Chrift was of Abraham according to 
the flefh, and that he was declared to be the Son 
of God according to the fpirit. I proved, from 
Romans i, that he was of the feed of Abraham, 



208 Worcefter Seels. 

being made of the feed of David according to the 
flefh, and that according to the fpirit he was de- 
clared to be the Son of God. Afterwards I 
wrote a paper concerning it. From Worcefter 
we went to Tewkefbury" where he had a ft iff 
conteft with the prieft. 

The above-named vifit to Worcefter was pro- 
bably the occafion when a Society of Friends 
was regularly organifed here, although the oldeft 
document, and evidently the firft minute book 
ever kept by them, does not commence till 1673. 

In thofe days, the magiftrates as a body, and 
efpecially thofe of Eve/ham^ feem to have been 
men without law, juftice, or humanity ; and the 
perfecutions which the unfortunate Quakers 
underwent at their hands in the neighbouring 
borough are a deep difgrace to the adminiftration 
of the law. According to Bejfe's Sufferings 
(publifhed 1753, and from which much of my 
material has been gathered) Samuel Garner and 
Robert Martin were moft violent and oppreflive 
as juftices, and excited mobs to hoot, throw 
ftones and dirt, fo that the Quakers' lives were 
endangered \ then they were thrown into horrid 
dungeons, where no friends were permitted to 
vifit them. At Evejham fair, on the 10th of 
September, 1655, Juftice Martin caufed the 
people to pelt them with ftiovels of dirt ; he alfo 
feized their books and burnt them at the Market 



of Friends, 209 

Crofe. A reprefentation of thefe grievances was 
forwarded to Cromwell, but not with much effect, 
except that Humphrey Smith and Thomas Cart- 
wright were examined before the mayor and 
magiftrates for having publiftied the paper in 
which they had reprefented their cafe to the 
Protector ; and fubfequentlv they, and Jojhua 
Frenjhaw, John Knight, and others, were tried 
before the Recorder, Robert Atkins, at the kf- 
fions. One chief objection was their refufing to 
fhow any one refpect by removing their hats, but 
Wall remarked to the objecting party, "Thou 
haft not yet made me any fatisfaction for the laft 
hat thou caufedft to be taken from me, neither is 
it reftored to me." The offenders were ordered 
back to gaol from feffions to feiiions, till they 
mould appear without their hats, though they 
afferted there was no command in Scripture nor 
any national law for putting off the hat. When 
they were charged with being Quakers, H. 
S?nith declared that the prophet Mojes was one ; 
and R. Smith was charged with calling George 
Hopkins, the prieft, a liar, which he ftill laid he 
was willing to prove ; the prieft made no anfwer. 
At length they were all heavily fined, but after- 
wards the fines were refcinded and the prifoners 
difcharged by order of the Protector, through 
jr-General Berry, who dates the order from 
JForcefter, September 1, 1656. The prifoners" 



210 If 'ore eft er Seels. 

goods alio, which had been taken away by the 
fheriff, were reftored on application to Cromwell, 

Smith, one of the fufferers, publifhed a printed 
fheet, of what they had undergone, from which 
it appeared thev had been kept a long time in a 
dark dungeon, on bread and water ; no bedding 
nor ftraw to lie on, without paving the gaoler 
monev ; a pillow was even denied to one poor 
wretch differing from the toothache. They 
were fourteen weeks in one dungeon, twelve feet 
fquare, which was not once cleaned out during 
that time, and the fmell was fo bad, even in the 
ftreet, that the people could not endure to ftand 
by it. In hot davs fome of the prifoners lay like 
-dead men, their breath being almoft flopped ; 
and in cold nights there v\ T as neither room nor 
material to make a lire, nor fpace to walk in. 
Their wretched food was handed in through a four- 
inch wide hole in the wall, and no friends were 
permitted to viiit them. When two countrymen, 
paffing by with their teams, requefted to fee 
them, the gaoler locked them in, nor did they 
regain their liberty without a confiderable fee. 
At Evejbam female Quakers were put in the 
flocks in a moll brutal and indecent manner, 
fometimes a whole day and night together in a 
freezing acmofphere, and then were ordered to 
quit the town. Any remonftrance with the 
mayor ufuallv refulted in another application of 



Society of Friends. 2 1 1 

the flocks. This redoubtable mayor was 
Edward Young. 

I am informed that the old cell, or prifon, 
at Evejham, where the poor Quakers were con- 
fined, is ftill in exiftence, under the end of an 
old dwelling-houfe as you enter the churchyard 
from the market place, and clofe to the church 
gates. At prefent, the fhop over it is ufed by a 
coachmaker, and the cell or cellar is a receptacle 
for coals and lumber. It is about twenty-two 
feet fquare and from fix feet to feven feet high. 
There is a ftrong ftone wall or buttrefs at one 
end, about four feet thick, but whether intended 
as a fupport to the roof, or as a divifion of 
the place for two claffes of inmates, is not now 
known. The ceiling has been removed. There 
are fome recefTes in the walls, and one narrow 
grating looking into the roadway. An old en- 
trance from the market place down fome ftone 
fteps has been blocked up. Altogether the cell 
is as comfortlefs a place as can be well imagined. 

Nor was Worcefter much behind in the work 
of perfecution. In the year of Fox's vifit to this 
city (1655), "Thomas Goodaire, for fpeaking to 
Richard Baxter after he had ended his fermon at 
Worcefter, was fent to prifon ; he was alfo impri- 
foned at another time for afking a prieft (probably 
(Baxter} a queftion in the fteeple-houfe at Kid- 
derminfier" Alfo in 1655, " Richard Farnf- 



212 Worcefter Serfs. 

worth was haled out of the fteeple-houfe at 
Worcefter for afking Baxter a fober queftion," for 
the priefts of thofe times chofe rather to ftop the 
mouths than fatisfy the doubts of religious 
inquirers. It will be feen in an earlier part of 
this work that Baxter (who was ftationed at 
Kidderminfter) occafionally preached in Worcefter 
Cathedral, when the Independents or Prefbvte- 
rians had pofTeffion of that edifice. 

In the year 1656 Fox again viilted Evefam, 
but there is no account of his coming on to 
Worcefter. Henry Fowler ^ for vifiting his friends 
in priibn in that year, was himfelf alio put in 
confinement -, many others were imprifoned for 
non-payment of tithes ; and Jane Hicks, of 
ChadvAch, was fent to priibn at Worcefter for 
fome offence which the prieft of King s Norton 
took at her fpeaking to him.. Next year, John 
Biff ell) for refilling to pay the pried 10s. for 
tithe, had goods taken from him worth 1/. y. - } 
Thomas Allingion, for going into one of the public 
places of worfhip, where he ftood ftill and ipoke 
not a word, was let in the ftocks \ and Edward 
Bourne, for exhorting the people in the College 
at Worcefter to fear the Lord and repent, was 
committed to priibn, where he remained thirteen 
weeks. The Cathedral was at that time occu- 
pied by Mr. Simon Moore^ a Prefbvterian [Inde- 
pendent?] preacher, who had taken pofieffion of 



Society of Friends. 213 

the principal pulpit in the city on the ejection of 
the church clergy.-— (See page 92.) In 1658, 
Jane Hicks (who has been already mentioned) 
was brought to Worcefter prifon from Bromfgrove^ 
where fhe had been feveral times " concerned to 
bear her teftimony to the truth to the people 
afTembled at their places of public worfhip." 
This poor woman, it feems, was placed four 
times in the flocks, once for a whole night and 
part of two days. This year, Fox addrefTed an 
epiftle to his friends at Worcefter^ which was as 
follows : 

" Friends, every one of you having a light 
from the Son of God^ wait in it, that you may 
come to receive the Son of God^ from whence it 
comes, and receive power from Him to become 
the fons of God, and have faith in Him ; for who 
are of faith are of Abraham's feed, which faith 
gives the victory over the world. It is by faith 
our hearts are purified - 3 fo dwell in the light 
which calls out all jangling fpirits, in which 
ye may have united one with another and with 
Chrift, from whence the light comes, and with 
the Father^ whom He is the way to, and that 
with the light ye may anfwer the light in every 
man (which comes from Chrift)^ though they 
hate it. So the Lord God Almighty keep and 
preferve you, and all keep your meetings in the 
power of God) that the Lord ye may fee prefent 
among you.— G, F." 

One of Fox's addrefles, dated from his refi- 



214 Wore eft er Seels. 

dence at Swarthmore^ in 1676, is copied into the 
Worcefter Quakers' minute book, but the epiftle 
was not addreffed to Worcefter : it feems to have 
been intended for Quakers generally, or elfe for 
thofe of Maryland and Virginia. 

Perfecution was now more and more violent, 
and, as ufual, in the fame proportion the 
Quakers exhibited their firmnefs, which at times 
approached to fanaticifm. William Sympfon^ in 
1659, P a ff e d naked through the ftreets of Eve- 
Jham^ "in a prophetic manner, as a fign to the 
people there, but was whipped on the back and 
breaft by an envious minded man of that place." 

This Sympfon imagined " that he was moved of 
the Lord to go at feveral times, for three years, 
naked and barefoot through cities, towns, market 
places, and into priefts' houfes, as a fign that 
they mould be ftripped as he was; fometimes he 
put on fackcloth and befmeared his face, faying 
that God would befrnear all their religion as he 
was befmeared." Many a horfewhipping, ftoning, 
and imprifonment, did Sympfon endure in carrying 
out his groffly-indecent and felf-impofed talk. 
The idea, which was probably derived remotely 
from the practice of fome of the prophets in the 
Old Teftament, was alfo afted upon by one Robert 
Huntingdon^ who went into Carlifle fteeple-houfe 
with a white meet on, among Prefbyterians and 
Independents, to mow that the furplice was coming 



Society of Friends. 215 

up again ; and he put on a halter to indicate 
further what mode of exit from this world fome 
of them might probably adopt. Others carried 
lanterns and candles into the churches, as indica- 
tive of the exifting mental and fpiritual darkness. 
Samuel Horton (1659), M hearing the prieft at 
Eve/ham afTert in his fermon that Abraham's 
grace was imperfect, was concerned to oppofe 
that anti-Scriptural doftrine, was fet in the flocks 
for three hours, and then fent to prifon." Same 
year, Robert Widder, " for fpeaking the words of 
truth to Baxter, in the fteeple-houfe at Kidder- 
minjter, was imprifoned there, as alfo was William 
Pitt, of Worcefter, who accompanied him ; and 
Nicholas Blackmore, William Pitt, and John 
Waite, pafllng from Worcejter to Kidderminfter, 
were fet in the flocks there, under pretence of 
their having broken the Sabbath by travelling on 
that day m " and John Giles, u for afking a prieft 
at Alchurch to prove infant baptifm, was fet in 
the flocks for {even hours." Poor Baxter, with 
all his love of difputation and controverfy, feems 
to have been fairly worn out by the attacks of the 
Quakers, and complained bitterly of the treat- 
ment he received at their hands. " They have 
oft (fays he) come into the congregation when I 
had liberty to preach Chriffs gofpel, and carried 
it againft me as a*deceiver of the people. They 
have followed me home, crying out in the 



2i6 Wore eft er Seels, 

ftreets, c The day of the Lord is coming, when 
thou fhalt perifh as a deceiver.' They have 
ftood in my market place and under my window, 
year after year, crying to the people, c Take heed 
of your priefts; they deceive your fouls/ and if 
they faw any one wear lace or neat clothing they 
cried out to me, c Thefe are the fruits of thy 
miniftry ! ? And Baxter expreffes his opinion 
pretty freely as to what they would have done 
had it been in their power. The Quakers were 
hoftile to the TVorcefter county petition, got up 
by Baxter in 1652, in favour of a ftanding 
miniftry and the prefervation of the Univerfities. 
'Fox attacked it in a pamphlet entitled, The Three- 
fold State of Anti-Chrift. This brought Baxter 
into the field with a defence, and there was not 
the ftiadow of a compromife on either fide, as 
may well be fiippofed by thofe who are acquainted 
with the character of the combatants. The 
Quakers were never known to furrender. The 
governor of Dover Caftle, when the King afked 
him if he had difperfed all the fectaries, faid, 
" Yes, except the Quakers, whom the devil 
could not difperfe ; for if he imprifoned them and 
broke up their meetings they would meet again ; 
and if he knocked them down or killed them 
they would meet and refift again." George 
Whitehead, a Quaker, who vifited Worcefterjhire 
in 1657, na d a fierce contention with the Bap- 



Society of Friends. 217 

tifts, but (fays he) " the Lord ftood by me and 
Strengthened me to ftand againft and over all the 
oppofition and contention which I met with or 
ftood in my way. At Worcefter city I had a 
large meeting, where I met with fome oppofition, 
and one time from fome profeffors, divers perfons 
of note being prefent ; but the difpute was foon 
over, for they could not maintain their oppofition, 
and the truth prevailed over them to the con- 
vincing of many ; and the Lord being prefent 
with me in my teftimony for His name, gave me 
fuitable anfwers by His immediate power and 
Spirit, opening matters in vindication of the 
truth of the gofpel, which he had given me 
a difpenfation of, to bear witnefs to His love and 
grace, and to turn people thereunto in their own 
hearts and confciences." He alfo had a large 
meeting in an orchard at Clifton-on-Teme. 

The year of the restoration of royalty (1660) 
witneffed no mitigation of the Quakers' fufFer- 
ings. Fox, in that year, paffed from Tewkesbury 
to Worcefter ', " and never (fays he) did I fee fuch 
drunkennefs as was then in the towns, for they 
had been choofing Parliament men at Worcefter. 
The Lord's truth was fet over all (his favourite 
expreffion) ; people were finely fettled therein, 
and friends praifed the Lord ; nay, I faw the very 
earth rejoiced \ yet great fears and troubles were 
on .many, looking for the King's coming in 



218 Wore eft er Seels. 

(Charles II) , and that all things fhould be altered. 
They would afk me what I thought of times and 
things. I told them the Lord's power was over 
all — His light mined overall, and that fear would 
take hold only on the hypocrite, fuch as had not 
been faithful to God, and on our perfecutors." 
On December 23, of the fame year (1660), 
Richard Fidoe, William Stevens, William Hall, 
Jojhua Wannerton, and Richard Wall, going to 
vifit one of their friends, were imprifoned at 
Worcefter, and afterwards carried before the ma- 
giftrates, who tendered them the oath of allegi- 
ance, and upon their refufal to take it they were 
recommitted to prifon. Next day, Robert Smith, 
William Pitt, Nicholas Blackmore, John Townf- 
end, yohn Waite, Thomas Ball, Edward Stanton, 
William Meakin, Gervas Pear/on, Francis Clark, 
j^ohn Clark, Abraham Roberts, Thomas "Jukes, 
Abraham Annes, George Knight, and Thomas 
Waite, were taken out of a peaceable meeting, 
and carried before Major Wild, who tendered 
them the oath, and on their refufing to fwear, he 
fent them to prifon, without expreffing in their 
mittimus any caufe for his fo doing. At Wor- 
cefter Seffions, January 8, 1660-1, forty-feven of 
the Quakers were tendered the oath, refufed it, 
and were committed to prifon. Their names 
were, Robert Nezucomb, Thomas Carter, Edward 
Gibbs, John Bennett, Tho?nas Cadick, William 



Society of Friends. 219 

S?nith, William Parr, John Jenkins, Richard 
Kirby, Thomas Dobbins, S. Manfell, Jane Hicks, 
John Newcomb, William Perkins, William Webb, 
John Gunn, Jofeph Walker, Jofeph Wall, N. 
Wilkinfon, F. Harvey, R. Paton, E. Hall, Ann 
Heminge, Eliz. Bay leys, T. Dunton, T. Beale, R. 
Englijh, William Pecks, 5T. Jenkins, J. Chandler, 
William Harris, William White, Richard Whil- 
ler, J. Hopkins, Joane Burton, Mary Burton, 
Richard Ruffell, Richard Broadwell, D, Wilkin- 
fon, T. H or ton, John Johnfon, William Collins, 
William Harvey, John Bowter, T. Brotherton, 
Martin Willetts, and Ifabel Parker. On the 
thirteenth of the fame month of January, "the 
meeting at Worcefter, confifting of only women 
(nearly all the men being then in prifon), the 
officers came and took them away, and put them 
in a place of confinement called Under Riders, 
where they were kept feveral hours -, neverthelefs 
on the 20th they met again, and were committed 
to the fame place, and afterwards to Bridewell ;* 
two of them having been firft fet in the flocks 



* There was a prifon in the old Guildhall, and the gaoler's 
refidence in the fame building, which he occupied as a public houfe, 
felling drink at exorbitant rates to the prifoners, and when their 
purfes were not equal to the demand they were treated with brutal 
feverity. It was ordered by the Corporation " that the prifon next 
adjoining the Tolfey (Guildhall) fhould be for all parties, citizens or 
others, arretted by procefs of the Court of Record of this city 
(debtors, &c), and the felons to be committed to the prifon of the 
Foregate" (then in Gaol Lane, now St. Nicholas Street). 



2 20 TV ore eft er Seels. 

for five hours. The names of thefe two were 
Sufan Pearfon and Elizabeth Deane, and of the 
others, Elizabeth Careless, Ann S killer ^ Ann 
TJ r alker, Alice Deane, Ellen Price (aged sixty- 
three), and Elizabeth Read." At the affizes in the 
following March thole who were imprifoned in our 
county gaol were fet at liberty, except William 
Smith and two women. Mr. Town/end^ in his 
MS., fays— " I and Mr. G. Symonds, as Juftices, 
releafed out of the Caftle jail of Worcefter this day 
(28th), forty-four Quakers and fourteen Anabap- 
tifts, upon their promifing to appear at the next 
jail delivery, and in the mean time to keep the 
peace," &c. On the 4th day of July (1661), 
Edward Walker^ who had been imprifoned 
feveral weeks for refufing the oaths, was again 
fent for by the mayor, and for the fame caufe 
committed to prifon. 

Venner's infurrection (Fifth Monarchy men) 
about this time had given occafion for an order 
in council forbidding all fectaries to meet in large 
numbers or at unufual times, though the Quakers, 
Independents, and Baptiits, had publifhed their 
deteftation of that infurreclion and their prayer 
for toleration. 

On the 12th of January, 1661-2 (fays BeJJe), 
u the Friends being peaceably met at the houfe 
of Robert Smith, in Worcefter^ a marfhal with a 
file of mufketeers (being of thofe called 'the 



Society of Friends, 221 

clergy band ' ) came and in a hoftile manner 
forced all the men there met, being eighteen, to 
go with them. They mowed no order or war- 
rant, but guarded them through feveral ftreets to 
their captain's houfe, who ordered the foldiers 
to carry them to the marmal's. They were kept 
about three days and three nights, it being the 
time of a general feffion, at which, though they 
were never called to appear or anfwer for them- 
felves, an indictment was found againft them 
upon the evidence of but one man, and he an 
infamous perfon who had been formerly arraigned 
for murder and was afterwards diftracted. From 
the marmal's they were removed to the town 
gaol, and there remained; their names were — 
John TVright, Edward Levjis, F. Fincher, John 
Price, fen., Robert To?nkins, J. Clarke, Rd. Lewis , 
Robert Smithy John Price minor, Abm. Roberts, 
Ed. Stanton, Gervas Pearfon, Rd. Fidoe, John 
Price minimus, Francis Harvey , George Knight , 
Nicholas Blackmore, and John Town/end. In the 
fame month, cc Daniel Baker, Philip Bear croft, 
and Thos. Hacket, were taken from a meeting and 
imprifoned - 3 and after eight weeks the faid Baker 
was again committed on 35th Elizabeth, which 
obliges nonconforming to abjure the realm on 
pain cf being proceeded againft as felons." In 
the May following " JV?n. Parr was fent to 
Worcefier gaol for refufmg to pay tithes \ and in 



222 Worcefter Seels. 

July, Thos. Wells was fent to gaol for refufing 
to take the oath of allegiance, and Rd. Payton 
for fuffering a meeting at his houfe. The latter 
had afterwards the oath tendered to him, and 
upon his refufal to take it was run to a premu- 
nire, and had his eftate confifcated." At the 
affizes in the fame month, u Robert Smith was 
indicated for refufing to take the oath ; he had 
been taken with many others by military force, 
and on being afked why he appeared before the 
Court with his hat on, faid it was his own and 
he came fairly by it, and that it was no more 
contempt of Court than to wear a coat or cloak." 
He was fined 5/., and thereupon a long dialogue 
enfued between him and the judge, but the 
Quaker declined on fcriptural grounds to take 
the oath ; he was brought up on feveral occafions, 
and then ordered to have his eftate confifcated 
and be imprifoned during the King's pleafure— 
a period which lafted nearly ten years ! 

In Wm. Sewer s Hiftory of the Quakers is the 
following account of this trial : 

a Now I could enter upon a large relation of 
the trial of many prifoners at Worcefter before the 
judges Hide and Terril ; but fince that trial was 
much after the fame manner as that of fohn 
Crook^ herebefore mentioned at large, I'll but 
curforily make fome mention of it. When the 
prifoners, being brought to the bar, afked why 



Society of Friends. 223 

they had been kept fo long in prifon, they were 
anfwered with the queftion, whether they would 
take the oath of allegiance, and endeavours were 
ufed to draw fome to betray themfelves, by afking 
them where they had been on fuch a day ; for if 
they had faid 4 at meeting/ then it would have 
appeared from their own mouth that they had 
acted contrary to the law. But they anfwered 
verily, that they were not bound to accufe them- 
felves. Others by evidence were charged with 
having been at the meeting ; and when they faid 
that their meetings were not always for public 
worfhip, but that they had alfo meetings to take 
care of widows, fatherlefs, and others that were 
indigent; yet it was faid to the jury that though 
there was no evidence that there had been any 
preaching in the meeting, yet if they did but 
believe the prifoners had kept a meeting for reli- 
gious worfhip it was fufficient for them to approve 
the indictment. And yet fuch proceeding in 
other cafes would have been thought unwar- 
rantable. One Edward Bourne, being imprifoned 
— (See another account further on.) * * * 
Now fince thofe that were fined thus did not ufe 
to pay the fines, judging that the thing which 
they were fined for was an indifpenfable duty 
they owed to God, and therefore they could not 
pay any fuch fine with a good conscience, the 
confequence therefore generally was imprifon- 
ment and diftraining of their goods, whereby 
fome loft twice and it may be thrice as much 
as the fine amounted to. Some of the prifoners 
made it appear that they had been fomewhere 
elfe the night of the meeting at the houfe of one 
Robert Smith, at fuch time as the evidence de- 



224 Worcefter SeSIs. 

clared by oath ; yet becaufe they gave no fatis- 
factory anfwer to the queftion whether they had 
not been there on that day they were deemed 
guilty ; the faid R. Smith was premunired, for the 
oath of allegiance being tendered to him, and he 
menaced by the judge with a premunire, he afked 
for whom that law (for taking the faid oath) was 
made, whether not for Papifts. And on fufpicion 
that fome of that perfuafion fat on the bench, he 
afked alfo whether they, for the fatis faction of 
the people there prefent, ought not alfo to take 
the oath. But the judge waived this, telling 
him he muft take the oath, or elfe fentence 
fhould be pronounced againft him. Smith afked 
them whether the example of Chrift fhould 
decide the queftion; but the judge faid I am not 
come here to difpute with you concerning the 
doctrine of Chrift^ but to inform you concerning 
the doctrine of the law. Then Smith was led 
away ; and afterwards, when an indictment for 
his refufmg the oath was drawn up, he was 
brought into court again, and afked whether he 
would anfwer to the indictment or no; and the 
reafons he gave not being accepted, the judge 
faid, before Smith had done fpeaking, c This is 
your fentence, and the judgment of the Court : 
You mall be fhut out of the King's protection, 
and forfeit your perfonal eftate to the King for 
ever, and your real eftate during life.' To this 
Robert Smith faid, with a compofed mind, c The 
Ltrd hath given, and if He fuffers it to be taken 
away H?s will be done, Thus Smith fuffered, 
with many more of his friends there and elfe- 
where ; all which I believe my life-time would * 
not be fufficient to defcribe circumftantially." 



Society of Friends. '225 

Three days after Smith was committed, the 
fheriff feized his perfonal eftate for the King, and 
took an inventory even to the minuteft thing, 
fuch as a ladle, flefhfork, &c, and a bafket 
which coft but three farthings. Smith fent a 
letter to Judge Hyde after this fentence had been 
pafTed (it being not an unufual thing in thofe 
days for prifoners to memorialife judges and juries 
before as well as after their trial), in which, after 
fome general admonitions on the fhortnefs of life 
and the accountability of man, he proceeds — 

"And as for thy dealing with me and my 
poor family, and alfo with friends at the laft 
aflizes, I defire it may be blotted out if the Lord 
fee it meet, and not laid to thy charge ; and 
as for the fheriffe, with others, they have ufed 
more faithfulnefs, I am perfuaded, in performing 
thy fentence againft us than they would have 
ufed in a better work, and they have not 
been negligent concerning me, but exactly feized 
upon all in my houfe ; they did not fo much 
as let the fkimmer efcape their remembrance, 
neither were they forgetful of the ladle, which 
with the reft is priced and fold, and moneys 
received for it by him that feized. This is the 
pity and kindnefs I have met with even from 
my own neighbours and native countrymen, 
who take no care for my diftreffed family, who 
are ten in number, with whom I have not been 
above thefe fix months, and both I and them 
might have perifhed had not the love of God 
exceeded the cruelty of man. Much might be 



226 Worcefter Seels. 

declared in this wife, but I forbeare, knowing 
that crueltie fitts not man for the Lord, but 
rather helps backward than forward to the reft 
that remains for evermore \ and if the fenfe of 
thefe things hath at all pierced thy underftanding, 
thou maift do well to moderate ye ftri&nefs of 
my imprifonment, that I may have a little liberty 
to help my helplefs family. It would not, I 
believe, be difpleafing to the Lord if I was re- 
ftored both to my liberty and alfo to that which 
was taken from me ; neither would it difhonour 
the King, fo I defire thee to ponder the weight 
of thefe things in thy mind, and to anfwer me 
according as the good Spirit of the Lord doth 
either witnefs for me or againft me \ and remain 
thy friend, though thou haft been my great 
enemy, and am a lover of liberty in things per- 
taining to confcience and honefty, Robert Smith" 

A copy of the above letter is preferved in 
the earlieft minute book of the Worcefter Friends. 

At the fame aflizes whereat Robert Smith was 
fo grievoufly treated, Edward Bourne — a leading 
man among the Quakers, who were ufed fre- 
quently to affemble at his houfe — and George 
Knight were alfo tried, the one for maintaining 
that all oaths were unlawful, and the other for 
meeting with others on the nth of June at the 
houfe of the above-mentioned Robert Smith. 
There were great difcrepancies and informalities 
in the proceedings againft them, and Bourne took 
the opportunity of afking the judge a puzzling 



Society of Friends. 227 

queftion — " Suppofe that Cbrift and His apoftles 
were here at this time, and they fhould meet 
together, would not this law lay hold on them ?" 
Judge : " Yes, that it would ; " but then recol- 
lecting himfelf, he faid, " I will not anfwer your 
queftion; you are no apoftles." Bourne: "We 
are Chriftian followers of Chrift, as they were." 
Being found guilty, they were fined 5/. each, or 
three months' hard labour. In like manner 
were punifhed, "John Pike, "John Townfend. 
Sufanna Pear/on, R. Tomkins, T. Jukes, J 
Clarke, R. Fidoe, TV. Pitt, Ed. Stanton, Ab 
Roberts, Ab. Arms, Gervas Pearfon, F. Harvey 
F. Fincher, Jeffery Rafmus, T. Ball, and jf 
Waite. Many of thefe prifoners, befides Smith 
memorialifed the judges (Hyde and Tyrrell) 
appealing to their confciences to do what was 
right in the fight of the Lord, and reprefenting 
how they had been oppreffed in the time of 
Cromwell and his fon Richard. In the enfuing 
month of Auguft, at the feffions, H. Gibbs, E. 
Hall, G. Fort, J. Newcomb, T. Denton, S. 
Bailey, J. Johnfon, TV. Collins, and E. Gibbs, 
were fentenced to pay 5/. each, or three months' 
imprifonment. On the laft day of the fame 
month, Major Wilde (who emulated the magis- 
trates of Evejham in his ferocity againft the poor 
Quakers), " with a party of foldiers, came to 
Evejh am, and fent fome of his foldiers to fetch 






228 Wore eft er Seels. 

feveral of the inhabitants of that town, and alfo 
Robert Bay lis, W. Webb, and R. Walker, of 
Broadway, being brought before him, he took 
their words for their appearance at Worcefter 
next day, except R. Walker, whom they ufed 
very inhumanly, driving him (though a poor fick 
man, and above fixty years of age) before their 
horfes on foot, and when he was not able to 
keep pace with them a foldier took him and 
dragged him along by force. The major him- 
felf beat him down with his horfe and threatened 
to piftol him. At length they fet him on horfe- 
back, whipping the horfe both up-hill and down- 
hill, to the great pain of the infirm man, who, 
when he entreated them to be more merciful 
to his weak body, met with nothing from them 
except returns of feoffs and derifion. He was 
thus brought by them to Worcefter jail, but the 
hardmips he had met with by the way had fo 
weakened his body — before afflicted with a long- 
continued ptifick — that he died in a fhort time 
after his commitment. He was a man of meek, 
innocent, and Chriftian fpirit, inoffenfive in life 
and converfation, and generally well beloved by 
thofe that knew him." 

This year (1662) witneffed the paffing of the 
Act of Uniformity, when the Puritan clergv 
were ejected from their livings and became the 
founders of numerous feclarian congregations, 



Society of Friends, 229 

while others were gladly received into focieties 
already exifting, as of Quakers, Independents, 
and Baptifts, On the ift of January, 1662-3, 
H. Gibbs, W. Collins, S. Pitway, and Jos. 
Walker, were taken from their own houfes and 
committed to prifon, and at the next feffions the 
two firft were recommitted for fix months, 
though no breach of any law was proved againft 
them ; and on the 26th of the fame month E. 
Edwards was taken at a meeting and fent to 
prifon. 

In the Worcefter county rolls for 1662 is " A 
calendar of the prifoners called Quakers : Rd. 
Payton, convifted de premunire ; Edward Hall, 
convi£ted for words fpoken in open court, fined 
5/., and committed till payed ; Henry Gibbs, 
Wm. Collins, Wm. Webb, Robert Baylis, Rd. 
Walker alias Weaver, Jos. Walker, Rd. Bennet, 
Wm. Eades, Stephen Pitway, committed the 2nd 
of January, 1662, for having lately affembled 
themfelves under the pretence of joyning in 
a religious worfhip, to the great endangering 
of the publique peace and fafetye, and to the 
terrour of the people in feverall places of this 
county." 

On the 10th of May, 1663, thirty men and 
women were taken out of a meeting at Wor- 
cefter, and committed to prifon next day ; the 
women and fome of the men were fet at liberty, 



230 Wore eft er Seels. 

but ten of them continued in prifon, viz., Ab. 
Roberts, R. Fidoe, J. Clark, G. Pearfon, J. 
Rafmus, T. Ball, E. Lewis, j. Price, N. Black- 
more, and y, Wright. About the fame time, 
Ezekiel Partridge was a prifoner in Worcefter 
gaol on a writ de ex com. cap., by the procure- 
ment of one Truftram, prieft of Belbroughton. 
On the 8th of November, N. Blackmore, with 
Wm. Pitt and y. yen kins, was again committed 
to prifon ; and in the following January, " y. 
Waite, A. Roberts, E. Stanton, Dudley Linton, 
E. Lewis, and another, were required by the 
Mayor of Worcefter and Major Wilde to pay 
four millings each for a month's abfence from 
church, though feveral of them had been im- 
prifoned three-quarters of a year before, and had 
not been difcharged from thence three weeks. 
Upon this refufal to pay, the . magiftrates caufed 
their wearing clothes to be taken off their backs 
in their prefence by way of diftrefs, and accor- 
dingly were taken from y. Waite two coats and 
his hat -, from Roberts, a great coat worth thirty 
millings ; from Stanton, a riding coat ; from 
Linton, a great coat and hat; from Lewis, a 
great coat ; and from the others, a coat and hat. 
yohn yenkins, being abfent from public worfhip, 
was excommunicated and committed to Worcefter 
gaol by a writ de ex. cap., where he continued 
feveral years. In this year alfo, N. Blackmore, 



Society of Friends. 231 

W. Pitt , R. Bennett, and T. Jenkins, were fined 
and committed to prifon for not taking off their 
hats in court." 

In 1664, March nth, " E. Bourne and two 
friends who were intending to lodge at his houfe, 
namely, fas. Harrifon and J. Cartwright, were 
taken by foldiers, one of whom being afked for 
their orders, held up his piftol, faying that was 
his order. They carried them before Major 
Wilde, who committed them to Worcefter gaol ; 
they alfo feized and took away y antes Harrifon* s 
horfe from an inn where they had left it." And 
on June nth "J. Jenkins, of Clifton, eighty 
years of age, was committed to Worcefter gaol, 
having been excommunicated in confequence of 
a profecution in the Ecclefiaftical Court at the 
fuit of John Parker, the prieft, for tithes." 

The Worcefter corporation records for the 
year 1665 contain the following entries : " Paid 
two foldiers for watching the Quackers, is.6d.->" 
and " Paid fames Hill for a bill againft the 
Quackers, and other expenfes by him laid out the 
laft affizes, 8^.6^." 

George Fox writes in 1666 — 

" Coming into Wore eft erjhire, after many meet- 
ings among friends in that county, we had a 
general men's meeting at Henry Gibs's at Pajhur 
(Perjkore), where alfo the monthly meetings 
were fettled in the Gofpel order. The feffions 



232 Worcefter Seels. 

being held that day in the town, ibme friends 
were concerned left they {hould fend officers to 
break up our meeting, but the power of the Lord 
retrained them fo that it was quiet ; through 
which power we had dominion. I had feveral 
meetings amongft friends in that county till I 
came to Worcefter, and it being fair time, we 
had a precious meeting. There was there in 
Worcefter one Alajor Wild, a perfecuting man, 
and after I was gone fome of his foldiers enquired 
after me ; but having left the friends there fettled 
in good order, we palled to Droitwich and thence 
to Sbrewfbury" 

In the fame year (1666) the following Quakers 
were " taken at a conventicle and committed by 
Thos. TVilde, Esq.:" Wm. Pitt, Rd. Fydo, Abra. 
Roberts, Rich. Lewis, Ed. Lewis, Rd. Stanton, 
John Wright, Alex. Berdjlye, Thos. Fitrale, and 
"John Ho/kins. Next year (as I find from the 
county feffions rolls) the gaoler's lift of prifoners 
then in gaol included the following — 

" Thomas Payton, late of Dudley, taylor, a 
p'fefled Quaker, taken at a conventicle of 
Quakers in the laid town of Dudley, a place 
much infefted with Quakers and diforderlie 
p'fons, and comitted to ye gaole 10th July, xiiii 
Caroli, and being a ftubborn and incorigible 
p'fon, was at ye next feffions following tendred 
the oathe of allegiance, which he refufed to take, 
was indicted, and convicted of premunire. Tho- 
mas Feckenham, another leader of the fame feet, 



Society of Friends, 233 

was likewife apprehended about three years 
fince, and tendred ye oathe of allegiance, and 
beinge ftill obftinate and p'verfe, hath been con- 
tinued a prifoner, but with fome liberty now and 
then extended towards him, wh. kindnefs hath 
not as yet wrought any conformitie or fubmiffion 
in him. "John "Jenkins and William Pardoe, Qua- 
kers, excommunicated in ye confiftory of Here- 
ford, and taken by a writ de ex com. capiend. about 
a year fince. John Roberts, of Droitwich, 
p'feffed Quaker, for ufmg his trade and calling 
on ye Sunday or Lord's Day, was likewife pre- 
fented and excommunicated a year ago. John 
Tombs, of Droitwich, for the like offence, and 
for refufing to permit the facred ordinance of 
baptifm to be adminiftered to his children, like- 
wife excommunicated, and taken up by the like 
writ. Job Allibone and TVm. Hodges, for the 
fame offence and refufing to come to church. 
All wh. perfons foe committed are, by the over- 
much indulgence of the late fheriff, under-fheriff, 
and gaoler, permitted to goe at liberty about 
their occaffions, wh. we confider doth encourage 
them to perfift in their contemptuous and incor- 
rigible behaviour 3 and they are not to be found 
in prifon, unlefs for aboute an houre or a night 
once in fix or eight weeks' time." 

It feems this report of the ftate of Quakerifm 
was occalioned by a requeft. from the Govern- 
ment that the magiftrates mould inquire into the 
fubject, and furnifn the names of the Quakers 
then in prifon, and whether they were ringleaders 



234 Wore eft er Seels. 

or had been feduced into the commiffion of 
offence by others. The William Pardoe men- 
tioned above was probably the individual who 
was faid to have been the paftor of the Baptift 
congregation in this city. — (See page 158.) 
Thomas Feekenham alfo is named as the founder 
of the Worcefter Baptifts (see page 156), fo that 
considerable confufion prevails in the records as 
to the clarification of diffenters. 

In the year 1670, May 10th, BeJJe obferves — 
" A new act coming into force againft religious 
meetings under the name of conventicles, the 
magiftrates of Worcefter and others in the county 
were not wanting to put both it and other acts 
againft Quakers into execution." On the 20th 
of June a warrant was iffued by Richard Brinley, 
Rob. Sellers, Ed. Soley, and y. Higgins, magis- 
trates, to the gaoler of the county of the city, 
thus : 

« Whereas R. Fidoe, y. Alford, y. Hunt, and 
R. Stevens were, on the 19th inft., in a riotous 
and tumultuous manner, with many other per- 
fons, met together in Cooking Street, contrary 
to the laws of this land, and refufing to difperfe 
upon proclamation, they were apprehended and 
committed," &c. 

This meeting in the ftreet was not of the 
Quakers' own choice, but their ufual meeting 
place being locked up by the mayor's order, they 



Society of Friends. 235 

met before the door, on their own hired ground, 
and when they were kept from that ground by- 
force they met as near it in the ftreet as they 
could. Ed. Bourne^ H. Smart , and E. Reynolds 
were alfo committed in a fimilar manner for 
refufing to give fureties for their appearance at 
feffions. On 4th July, four others were com- 
mitted — W. Pardoe, TV. Roberts^ E. Lewis •, and 
A. Beardjley — for " meeting to hold a conven- 
ticle, and refufing to give good fureties for their 
good abearing." Mr. jf. Bear croft was then 
mayor, and E. Soley^ f. Higgins^ R. Brinley, and 
F. FrankeSj magistrates. Some months before 
this, Ed. Bourne had fixed a paper to the door of 
the fteeple-houfe at Worcefter ( probably the 
Cathedral), denouncing thofe who loved the 
chief places in the affemblies and falutations in 
the markets, as " Antichrift's minifters and falfe 
prophets, who fought their gain from every 
quarter." Bourne was imprifoned three days for 
telling this piece of his mind. This leading 
Quaker [Ed. Bourne^ the phyfician) was evidently 
a thorn in the fide of the ecclefiaftics. He was 
the author of An Anfwer to Dr. Good (fo called) 
his Dialogue againft thofe called . Quakers ^ wherein 
he hath forged the Quaker and confuted himfelf; 
Worcefter^ 2lft of the \th month^ 1675. 

It will be feen from the above memoranda that 
the firft regular meetings of the Quakers were 



236 IV ore eft er Seels. 

held in a houfe hired for the purpofe in Cooken 
or Cucken Street (now abfurdly metamorphofed 
into Copenhagen Street) ; though it has already 
been fhown that the early meetings of the feet 
were held at the private houfes of their leading 
members, E. Bourne , Robert Smithy and others. 

Many imprifonments and diftreffes were in- 
flicted on this fuffering fe£t in the year 1 670-1. 
John Payton is faid, by Beffe, to have been 
"fined ten millings for his wife being at a meet- 
ing at Dudley, though fhe was not there ; but 
fuch miftakes were ufual with the informers, who 
often fwore at random or by guefs. The officers 
came to Pay tori's houfe by night, when all his 
family were in bed ; they fent a perfon to knock 
at the door, under pretence of buying fomething; 
when the man himfelf came down to let in his 
fuppofed cuftomer, the officers alfo ruined in and 
were about to make diftrefs ; but his wife calling 
fome neighbours to witnefs what they did, and 
afking whether they came like thieves in the 
night, they forbore, and came again next day, 
when they took away the kettle and other goods, 
to the value of 32/., which goods they carried 
into the parifh church, where they lay till they 
fold them." In the fame year, Sir John Paking- 
ton, of Weftwood, and Samuel Sandys, of Omberjley, 
granted warrants againft F. Fine her, G. Maris, 
W. Sale, and John Tombs, Fincher was taken on 



Socle ty of Friends . 237 

his knees at prayer, and having fubfequently heard 
that he was fined 20/., he went to Juftice Pa king- 
ton (who, with Sandys^ was on the bowling- 
green — probably the ancient one ftill at Hadley) 
to expostulate with him, afking him whether he 
thought prayer to God was a breach of the law. 
Sir John^ in reply, faid that he might pray at 
home, and that he flood convicted on the oath of 
the informers. Fincher then, w T ith Chriftian 
boldnefs, exhorted him to juftice and equity, but 
Sandys threatened him that if he did not hold his 
tongue he would fend him where he would be 
loth to go. A fhort time afterwards the officers 
brought three carts to Fincher 9 s houfe and carried 
away the beft of his goods, took pofTeffion of the 
reft, and fold all ; and within a few weeks after, 
Fincher was taken from his family and com- 
mitted to Worcefter gaol by a writ de excom. cap., 
where* he lay feveral months • and G. Maris ^ at 
whofe houfe the meeting was held, was impri- 
foned above eight months. 

In the year 1672, John Stanley was committed 
to JVorcefter prifon by Exchequer procefs for 
tithes; February 16th, Ann Heming died in the 
fame gaol, where fhe had been confined for above 
four years for tithes ; and in the fame year, 
R. Pay ton and R. Smith— whofe names are now 
familiar to my readers— were difcharged by the 
King's letters patent, the former from about 



238 Worcefter Seels. 

ten years 5 confinement, under fentence of pre- 
rnunire, in the Worcefter county gaol, and the 
latter from an imprifonment of equal length in 
the city prifon. 

The year 1673 * s memorable for the imprifon- 
ment of George Fox at Worcefter and for the 
commencement of the Quakers' regular records 
in this city, which records are ftill in exiftence ; 
but before analyfing thefe books let us turn our 
attention to poor Fox's account of his capture 
and imprifonment. Travelling through Worcef 
terjhire towards the north, he went to fohn 
Halford's^ at Armfcot, in Tredington parifh, 
"where we had a very large and precious 
meeting in his barn. After the meeting, friends 
being moft of them gone, as I was fitting in the 
parlour, difcourfing with fome friends, Henry 
Parker^ a juftice, came to the houfe, and with 
him Rowland Hains^ priefr of Hunniton. This 
juftice came to know of the meeting by means 
of a woman friend, who, being nurfe to a child 
of his, afked leave of her miftress to go to the 
meeting to fee me." Parker then caufed Fox 
and his fon-in-law, Thomas Lower , to be appre- 
hended, and fent them both to Worcefter gaol, 
by a mittimus fetting forth that there had been a 
meeting to the number of 200, or thereabouts, 
at Armfcot, and that Fox and Lower were prefent, 
and giving no fatisfa£tory account of their fettle- 



Society of Friends. 239 

ment or place of habitation, and refufing to give 
fureties to appear at next feffions, the conftables 
of Tredington were authorifed to take them to 
the county gaol of Worcefter. Fox got fome 
friends to accompany his wife and her daughter 
into the north while he and his fon-in-law were 
led by the officers to Worcefter. In a fubfequent 
letter to his wife he declared that he had " had a 
fight of being taken prifoner the night before " 
— that is, he had received a fupernatural fore- 
warning of what was to happen. When they 
had been fome time in gaol they laid their cafe 
before Lord Wind for ^ then lord lieutenant of 
Wore eft erjhire, and before the deputy lieutenants, 
mowing how inhumanly they had been dealt 
with ; that Lower was going down with his 
mother-in-law (Fox's wife) and with his fifter, to 
fetch up his own wife and child out of the north 
into his own country ; that Fox was bringing his 
wife on her journey towards the north, having 
been at London to vifit one of her daughters 
juft lain in ; and he had afked the prieft whether 
this was his gofpel and their way of cc entertaining 
ftrangers," and defired the juftice to confider 
whether this was doing as he would be done by ; 
but he replied, " he had faid it and would do it." 
No relief was obtained from Lord Windfor^ 
although many of the Wore eft erjhire juftices dif- 
liked Parker's proceedings ; fome friends how- 



240 



TVorcefter SeSls. 



ever fpoke to Lord Windfor, " and on the laft 
day of the feffions, 21ft of nth month, 1673, 
when we came into court they were ftruck with 
palenefs in their faces, and it was fome time 
before anything was fpoken, infomuch that a 
butcher in the hall faid, c What, are they afraid ? 
Dare not the juftices fpeak to them V At length, 
before they fpoke to us, Juftice Parker made a 
long fpeech on the bench, much to the fame 
effect as was contained in the mittimus, often 
mentioning the common laws, but not inftancing 
any we had broken, adding that he thought 
it a milder courfe to fend us two to gaol than 
to put his neighbours to the lofs of 200/., which 
they muft have fuffered if he had put the law in 
execution againft conventicles. But in this he 
was very deceitful or very ignorant, for there 
being no meeting when he came, nor any to 
inform, he had no evidence to convict us or his 
neighbours by. When Parker had ended his 
fpeech, the juftices began with Thomas Lower, 
whom they examined of the caufe of his coming 
into the country, of which he gave them a full 
and plain account ; " then they turned to Fox for 
his account ; after which the chairman, an old 
Prefbyterian, faid, " Your relation or account 
is very innocent." Then he and Parker whif- 
pered together, and the chairman requefted Fox- 
to take the oaths of allegiance and fupremacy, 



Society of Friends. 241 

and they tendered him the book, but he declined, 
faying, " The book faith, Swear not at all ; " and 
the magiftrates told the gaoler to take him away. 
Lower flayed behind to reafon with them, but 
Mr. Simpfon threatened to imprifon him alfo, 
Mr. Simpfon afked Lower if there was not caufe 
to fend Fox to prifon, when the parfon of the 
parifh had complained that he had loft the 
greateft part of his parifhioners. Lower replied, 
" I have heard that the prieft of that parifh 
comes fo feldom to vifit his flock — but once 
or twice a year to gather tithes — that it was 
but charity in George Fox to vifit fuch a forlorn 
and forfaken flock." Upon this the juftices 
laughed, and chaffed Dr. Crowder, the prieft 
alluded to, who was fitting there unknown to 
Lower ; and he threatened to fue Lower in the 
Bifhop's Court, but Lower fent him word to 
begin it when he would, for the fuit would 
be anfwered, and the whole parifh brought 
in evidence againft him. This cooled the 
do&or, and nothing further was done in it. 
Crowder was a prebendary of Worcefter, and 
afterwards vifited Fox in prifon, entering into 
arguments with him on oaths, but got the worft 
of the difcuffion. Soon after the feflions, the 
term coming on, an habeas corpus was fent to 
Worcefter for the fheriff to bring up Fox to the 
King's Bench bar, whereupon the under-fherifF 



242 Worcefter Seels. 

having made Lower his deputy to convey Fox to 

London (a prettv good proof of the confidence 
repofed in the honour of Quakers), they fet out 
on the 29th of the eleventh month, 1673, 
the ways being very deep and the waters out. 
Proceedings went on, and then Juftice Parker or 
fome other of Fox's adverfaries moved the court 
that he fhould be fent back to Worcefter, and 
the judge gave judgment that he fhould be 
returned to Worcefter feffions. Parker had fpread 
a rumour that Fox was aiTociated with many 
fubftantial men in various parts of the countrv, 
and had a plot in hand, cc inibmuch (fays the 
accufed) that if I had not been brought up 
to London when I was, I had been flopped 
at Worcefter, and Thomas Lower had been re- 
committed with me. But although thefe lies 
were eafily difproved, and laid open to Par- 
ker's fhame, yet would not the judges alter their 
laft fentence, but remanded me to JVorcefier 
jail;" onlv this favour was granted — that he 
might go down at his own leifure, fo that he 
appeared at the affize. He arrived at JP^orcefter 
on the laft day of the hrft month, 1674, being; 
the day before the judges came; and "on the 
fecond day of the fecond month I was brought 
from the jail to an inn near the hall, that I might 
be in readinefs if I fhould be called; but not 
being called that dav, the gaoler came at night 



Society of Friends. 243 

and told me I might go home — meaning to the 
jail. Gerard Roberts^ of London^ being with me, 
he and I walked down together to the jail with- 
out any keeper. Next day, being brought up 
again, they fet a little boy, about eleven years old, 
to be my keeper. I came to underftand Juftice 
Parker and the clerk of the peace had given 
order that I mould not be put in the calendar, 
that I might not be brought before the judge ;" 
but fome one procured the judge's fon to move 
that Fox mould be called, and then he found the 
judge was Turner , an old adverfary. The judge 
tendered the oath, which being refufed, Fox was 
again referred to the feffions, bidding the juftices 
to make an end of it there, and not to trouble 
the aflizes again. " So (fays he) I was continued 
prifoner chiefly through the means of Juftice 
Parker^ for other juftices were very loving, and 
promifed that I fhould have the liberty of the 
town and to lodge at a friend's houfe till the 
feffions, which accordingly I did, and the people 
were very civil and refpeitful to me. Between 
this time and the feffions I had fome fervice 
for the Lord with feveral that came to vifit me. 
At one time three nonconformift priefts and two 
lawyers difcourfed with me, and one of the 
priefts undertook to prove that the Scriptures are 
the only rule of life, but I defeated him by con- 
tending that the grace of God was given to every 



244 Wore eft er Seels. 

man to be a fufficient rule. Then a common- 
prayer prieft came to me and fome people with 
him, and had a controverfy with me on perfecti- 
bility, contending that if a man faid he had no fin 
he deceived himfelf. I replied that all God's 
works were perfect, or rather there is perfection 
in Chrift above Adam" and he relates that the 
prieft's mouth was thereupon flopped. At the 
next feffions, being the 29th of the fecond 
month, "I was called before the juftices; the 
chairman's name Street, a judge on the Welch 
circuit, and he mifreprefented me and my caufe 
to the country, telling them that my meeting at 
Tredington was to terrify the King's subjects. 
This I denied, and ftated the cafe, but the judge 
told me I was canting. The judge having told 
the jury how to act, I was led out of the Court, 
and the people were generally tender as if they 
had been in a meeting. Soon after I was brought 
in again, and the jury found a bill againft me, 
which I traverfed. Then I was afked to put in 
bail, and the jailor's fon offered to be bound for 
me, but I flopped him, and warned friends not 
to meddle, for I told them there was a fnare 
in it ; yet I told the juftices I would promife to 
appear if the Lord gave me health and ftrength. 
Some of the juftices were loving, and would have 
flopped the reft from indicating me or putting the 
oath to me, but Juftice Street faid he muft go 



Society of Friends. 245 

according to law. So I was fent to prifon again. 
Yet within two hours after, through the mode- 
ration of fome of the juftices, I had liberty given 
me till next quarter feflions. Thefe moderate 
juftices, as it was faid, defired Juftice Parker to 
write to the King for my liberty, or for a noli 
profequi^ becaufe they were fatisfied I was not 
fuch a dangerous perfon as I had been repre- 
fented. This, it was faid, he promifed to do, 
but did it not." Fox then went to London^ but 
returned to Worcefter before the following fef- 
fions, whereat Juftice Street was again chairman; 
but fome fcruple arifing among the jury concern- 
ing the indictment, the chairman wifhed to 
tender the oath again to Fox ; at length u he 
browbeat the jury and made them go out and 
bring in a verdict of guilty, although there were 
many errors in the indictment. One of the jury 
would have taken me by the hand, but I re- 
minded him of the treachery of Judas, and 
bid him and them repent." A fentence of pre- 
munire was patted, with lofs of goods and impri- 
fonment for life. Mr. Twittey was then clerk 
of the peace. John AJhley, a lawyer, was very 
friendly to Fox on the trial, fpeaking on his 
behalf and pleading errors in the indictment, but 
chairman Street overruled all ; however (adds 
Fox) " the Lord pleaded my caufe, and met with 
both him and Juftice Simp/on, who firft enfnared 



246 Worcefter Setts. 

me with the oath at the firft feffions, for Simpfon's 
fon was arraigned not long after at the fame bar 
for murder ; and Street^ who, as he came down 
from London^ after the judges had returned me 
back from the King's Bench to Worcefter^ faid, 
c Now I was returned to them I mould lie in 
prifon and rot,' had his daughter (whom he fo 
doted on that fhe was called his idol) brought 
dead from London in an hearfe to the fame 
inn where he fpoke thefe words, and brought 
to Worcefter to be buried within a few days after. 
People took notice of the hand of GW, how 
fudden it was upon him ; but it rather hardened 
than tendered him, as his carriage afterwards 
mowed. After I was returned to prifon, feveral 
came to fee me, and amongft others the Earl 
of Salifbury's fon, who was very loving, and 
troubled that they had dealt fo wickedly by me." 
The affizes coming on in the fixth month, a 
ftatement of Fox's cafe was drawn up in writing, 
his wife and Lower delivering it to Judge Wild; 
and Fox himfelf fent a long epiftle to the King. 
About this time he was feized with a long fit of 
illnefs, fo that doubts were entertained of his 
recovery; but one night, in bed, he affures us, the 
Lord faid to him that He had a great deal more 
work for him to do before He took him to Himfelf. 
Fox's wife now came to vifit him in Worcefter 
prifon, and her report of him was as follows : 



Society of Friends. 247 

u After fome time he fell fick in a long, lin- 
gering ficknefs, and many times was very ill ; 
io they wrote to me from London that, if I would 
fee him alive, I might go to him, which accord- 
ingly I did , and after I had tarried feventeen 
weeks with him at Worcefter^ and no difcharge 
like to be obtained for him, I went up to Lon- 
don ^ and wrote to the King an account of his 
long imprifonment, and that he was taken on his 
travel homewards, and that he was fick and 
weak and not like to live if they kept him long 
there ; and I went with it to Whitehall myfelf, 
and I met with the King and gave him the paper, 
and he faid I muft go to the Chancellor, he 
could do nothing in it. Then I wrote alfo to 
the Lord Chancellor, and went to his houfe, and 
gave him my paper, and fpoke to him that the 
King had left it wholly to him, and if he did not 
take pity and releafe him out of that prifon, I 
feared he would end his days there. And the 
Lord Chancellor Finch was a very tender man, 
and fpoke to the judge, who gave out an habeas 
corpus prefently ; and when we got it we fent it 
down to JVorcefter. They would not part with 
him at firft, but faid he was premunired, and was 
not to- go out in that manner. And then we 
were forced to go to Judge North and to the At- 
torney-General, and we got another order and 
fent down from them, and with much ado and 
great labour and induftry of William Mead and 
other friends we got him up to London" 

The King, it feems, was willing to releafe 
Fox by fpecial pardon, but the high-minded 



248 W&rcefter Seels. 

fufferer declined to accept of liberty on thole 
terms, deeming himfelf innocent of any offence. 
Edward Pitivay at laft got Jufticc Parker to 

order the gaoler " to (how him what lawful 
favour he could for the benefit of the air for 
his health." This was on the 8th of October, 
1674. After this, Fox's wife obtained an inter- 
view with the King and the judges as mentioned 
above, and the prifoner was once more brought 
to King's Bench, to try the errors in his indict- 
ment. The under-fheriff, clerk of the peace, 
and fome others, went up to town with Fox 
in the ftage coach from JVorcefter. [This is 
the firft mention of a ftage coach in this city, 
and thole vehicles had not at that time affumed 
the name of mail?, balloons, jupiters, flvs, Sec. 
The firft mail coach from JVorcefter to London 
was not eftablifned till the 28th of Auguft, 
1785 — frill in living memory.] The journey 
from JVorcefter to London by ftage then occupied 
four days, Fox and his companions fetting out 
on the 4th day of the 12th month and arriving in 
London on the 8th. The clerk of the peace had 
been uniformly Fox's enemy, and a four days' 
clofe companionfhi'} on thele terms, in a lum- 
bering vehicle, proceeding at a rate of lefs than 
three miles an hour, could have been by no 
means a plealant thing, juft recovering, as he 
was, too, from a long attack of ficknefs. Air. 



Society of Friends, 249 

Twittey, it feems, ftill bore enmity to the unof- 
fending Quaker, and fought to enfnare him in 
his talk, but Fox fhunned him, and fo remained 
on his guard. The refult of this journey was 
that the judges unanimoufly thought there were 
fo many errors in the indictment that it muft 
be quafhed, and accordingly Fox received his 
liberty. 

During the time of his imprifonment in Wor- 
cefter gaol — a period of one year and nearly two 
months — he had written a great number of 
epiftles to his followers in many parts of the 
kingdom, befides books or treatifes, entitled, A 
Warning to the Englijh^ To the Jews concerning the 
Mejftah, Jgainft all Vain Difputes, For Bifhops 
and Mini ft ers, to try them by the Scriptures, &c. 

It has been ftated before that the year of Fox's 
imprifonment at Worcefter (1673) was tne Period 
of the commencement of the Quakers' records 
in this city. Thefe books, which I have dili- 
gently examined, are highly creditable to that 
body, as a proof of their bufmefs-like habits, 
order, and arrangement, as well as of the care 
with which they have been preferved, there being 
only one minute book (extending from 1765 to 
1776) miffing from the year 1673 to the prefent 
time, Their firft minute book commences thus : 



250 Worcefter Seels. 

" The monthly meeting book of the people of 
God, called Quakers, in the city of Worcefter. 

" After we had had many monthly meetings 
at Edivd. Bourne's houfe in Worcefter, wee judged 
it neceflary to notify or record fome things agreed 
upon by us thereatt fuch meetings, for the eafier 
and more thoroughly doing that good work which 
the Lord have called us unto, in refpe£l of dis- 
charging of our dutyes unto one another, that foe 
all who are accounted of us may be admonifhed 
as in God's wifdom there ftial be (eeiiQ caufe, 
that they walk according to the truth." 

The firft entry in this book is headed — 

" Att the monthly meeting at Edwd. Bourne's 
houfe in Worcefter, the 13th of the 8th month, 

1673." 

The minutes throughout this long feries of 
nearly two centuries relate to matters of difci- 
pline, the excommunication or difowning of un- 
ruly members, fuch as were inconfiftent enough 
to be married by a church prieft, or were guilty 
of habitual drunkennefs, fcandal, or other im- 
morality, or incurred debts reckleffly, or who 
launched into undue trading fpeculations without 
chance of fuccefs, or who followed the cuftoms 
of the world in drefs or other particulars ; exhor- 
tations not to pay tithes or other priefts 5 charges, 
accounts of the fufferings of Quakers from time 
to time (which were tranfmitted to London to 



Society of Friends. 251 

be ftored up for future hiftory), entries of minutes 
and queries received for their guidance from the 
London yearly meeting, putting out apprentices 
and paying the pafTage of poor friends to Penn- 
fylvania and other fettlements, accounts of 
Quakers' marriages and the ftri6t precaution 
taken that both the candidates for matrimony 
mould be " clear of all others " before they were 
permitted to become man and wife, together 
with records of the appointment of members 
to infpedt the converfation of friends, peace- 
making interventions between members who 
quarrelled, and affectionate interviews in the 
hope of reclaiming thofe who feemed by their 
conduit inclined to ftray out of the fold — thefe 
heads form the ftaple of the Worcefter Quakers' 
books. 

Their firft recorded marriage is in the year 
1674, when John Price announced his intention 
of taking Margaret Owen to wife. This cir- 
cumftance was duly mentioned at the meeting 
by Robert Smith, who declared that Thos. Vizard, 
who had formerly laid fome claim to the pro- 
pofed bride, had " acquitted her before fome of 
the world" — that is, had abandoned his claim in 
the prefence of witneffes not Quakers ; and John 
Price was required to obtain a certificate of this 
faft from the faid witneffes before whom " he had 
cleared her," that it might be recorded in the 



252 J For: eft er Sects, 

monthly meeting book. Next month occurs the 

following entry : 

" Agreed upon at ve monthly meeting yt John 
Price and Margaret Owen do lay their intention 
of marriage before ye women friends at their 
next monthly meeting, for ye fatisfaction of all 
friends, and alio an anfwer to friends' order and 
practice therein, that ye women friends do fend 
with them one woman friend to certify us at our 
monthly meeting of their allowance thereof." 

The two affianced at length fafely paffed 
through the ordeal of the women's inquiries — 
and ftricf. and fcrutinifmg no doubt they were — 
the marriage was allowed, and the following is a 
lift of the witneffes who attended that ceremony : 

Edw. Bourn Rich, Roberts 

Leonard Fell Sam. Pitt 

Rob. Smith Ann Evans 

Too. Hacket Mi Hi f en t Hodgkins 

Rob. Toomer E lienor Harvy 

Tho. Reeves Margery Walker 

Tho. Jukes Mary Par doe 

JVm. Pitt Margaret Bourn 

John Knight Elenor Stanton 

Edw. Lezuis Eliz. Wright 

Alex. BeardJJey Sufanna Ada?ns 

Some years later there is entered on the 

minutes 

" A coppie of Robt. and Sufan Knighfs (paper) 
condemning their running out and beins; married 

c c © 



Society of Friends . 253 

bv a prieft : Dear friends, to you who are of the 
tender feed of God are thefe following lines writ- 
ten, to let vou underftand that whereas wee who 
have profeiTed the truth of God, and not only loe^ 
but have often at times and feafons been made 
p'takers thereof to the comfort of our foules, 
have for want of keeping thereunto, which would 
have p'ferved us from the temptation of the evil 
one, been inihared by him and fallen in it by being 
joined together in marriage by a national prieft, 
and now by the mercy ofGodj who have let us fee 
the evil of it, and led us to repentance therein, 
are truly ibrrv that we have grieved Kis Spirit in 
ourielves and in vou who were burthen'd by it. 
And further, we doe acknowledge that we went 
contrarie to our underftanding in foe doinge, and 
foe deny that lpirit that led us to it and the way 
of accomplifhing it to be out of the truth, and 
hope for the future our live^ and converfations 
mav be fuch that vou may have unitie with us, 
who are, with our true love to you, your friends, 
Robert Knight, Sufan Knight." 

This recantation was deemed fufficient, and 
the two penitents were reinftated as members. 
Further on, " Ja?nes Stafford confeffes (in his 
paper of condemnation) that he had wronged his 
underftanding by taking to wife one of the world, 
not convinced of the truth, and in being married 
by a prieft, and at a time when my child was 
dead in my houfe, and in feeking for a wife fooner 
than a year after the deceafe of mv former one." 
He alfo acknowledged his drunken habits, and 



254 Worcefter Setts. 

being too light-minded, and altogether appeared 
extremely penitent. 

Inftances of " difowning," or excommunica- 
tion, occurring in the year 1674, include the 
cafes of Rd. Fidoe and Rd. Payton. Fidoe was a 
fhoemaker who had " walked diforderly," and 
notwithftanding the utmoft kindnefs and long- 
fuffering exercifed towards him he perfifted in 
his evil ways, and was therefore publicly dif- 
owned, or " wrote againft," as it was then 
termed (the modern expreflion of the fame pro- 
cefs is " a teftimony of difownment is iflued 
againft" fo-and-fo). Shortly afterwards, Rd. 
Payton, a tailor, and his wife, were difowned 
with great forrow on the part of the Quakers, he 
having once been a great fufferer in the caufe. 
(See pp. 219 and 229.) 

The monthly meetings were this year held 
at the houfe of Robert Smith. Same year, Sarah 
Reynolds ^ of Stourbridge, was committed to Wor- 
cefter gaol ; fhe was a poor widow with five 
fmall children, and was incarcerated for non- 
payment of the fum of ninepence (!) demanded 
cc towards the repair of the fteeple-houfe." In 
1675, Ezekiel Partridge , of Stourbridge, for re- 
fufing to pay a church rate, and in 1676, Alice 
Booker, of Wichenford, a widow, for a fimilar 
default, were imprifoned at Worcefter. Dr. 
Crowther, of Tredington, fent feveral Quakers 



Society of Friends. 255 

to Worcefter gaol in the years 1676-7-8; one of 
them, William Parr^ of Ship/ton, being impri- 
foned above a year, and a judgment being ob- 
tained againft him for 8/. tithes, he had taken 
from him four cows, worth 14/., and at another 
time four cows and two horfes. The faid Dr. 
Croiuther had the power of holding an Ecclefiaf- 
tical Court there once in three years, to which 
the faid William Parr was cited " for not coming 
to hear common prayer," and was again com- 
mitted to prifon, where he remained two years 
and a half. In 1678, Jane Baylis^ the wife of 
JVilUa?n Bay/is, of the parifh of Himbleton^ was, 
by virtue of an affize procefs, brought from her 
hufband and fmall children to JVorcefter county 
gaol, " for not coming to ye church, as it's 
called, ye 8th of ye 6th month." In the minute 
book for the following year is an order entered — 

" That a general fearch and infpection be made 
by friends profeffing the truth with us, that they 
ftand clear in their teftimony concerning tythes, 
and to the prieft, and repaire of fteeple-houfes, 
and be faithful in things relating to the truth 
that they profefs." 

The intolerance exerciied towards this kct 
had probably had the effect of turning fome afide 
from their religious profeffion, and inftances of 
backfliding and timidity are frequently rebuked 



2y: JI':rct!~u-r Sec:s. 

in the minutes of the monthly meetings at 
TVcrcc icr. 

On the 1 2th of March, 16S1, " Ed. B:u-;: 
was again lent to prifon, having beer 
headed while preaching at an uni:." :". conven- 
ticle, contrary to the liturgy of the Church of 
England^ in Friars Street, where were ieveral 
perrons, above the number of twenty, contrary 
to the late Act or' Parliament, G. Sr.Vv, mayor/' 
[This is the rirlt me::tion of the place of meeting 
having been changed from Cooken Street ; . 
Friar Street. Their latter houue adjoined Wyatfs 
bicipital, ana had ilibfequent 

attached. The chapel was ufed for Divine wor- 
fhip bv the Quakers till i"Ci, when the prefent 
chapel near Sanlbme Walk was erected, on 
ground given bv Ed, Bcun 
old chapel, however, was 1 
afterwards for their week-aa T 
ings, ana w: s i Itimatelv fold 
fchool. It is now ufed as :■. 
the old burying-ground, whe: 
friends he peacefully fide bv 
burrettings of a lire of peri 
retort of happy babyhood 
The prefent chapel near 5 anionic ^ alk had 
originally a paiiage into Foregate Street, but it 
was thought advifable to ft op it up to pre" 
the eftablifliment ot a thoroughfare.] 



ph 


y::::^ 


KW 


The 


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years 


■r Ov 


z c a b 3 




meet- 


:r t: 


iV l™ 


rpoi 


e of a 


in ad 


nt fc 




. ;.— 


the 


a on e 


manv 


.de 


after 


the 


cruel 


atio 


n, is 


dot 


■v the 




av- J 


a o ur s . 



Society of Friends, 257 

But to return to the year 1681. On the 19th 
of the fame month that Ed. Bourne was impri- 
foned, F. Fincher was alfo committed, as appears 
by the poftfcript of a letter from Ed. Bourne 
(then in the city priibn) to George Fox. Bourne 
in his letter exprefles the utmoft fatis faction at 
being called to martyrdom for the fake of his 
Saviour , obferving that being in bonds he is 
" iatisfied of being in his right place," and he 
fays that Fincher was fent thither a prifoner, 
" having been taken praying in our meeting in 
the ftreet, being kept out of our meeting by 
conftables." In the fame letter he ftates that 
many of the Quakers had recently been " con- 
cerned in the Chancellor's Court," of which 
there is the following account : cc E. Bourne y for 
a demand of 2s. j J. Knight^ ^s. ; and J. Allibone 
andiJ. Hill is.6d. each, towards the repairing of 
the fteeple-houfe called St. Nicholas* church in 
Worcefter, were profecuted in the Ecclefiaftical 
Court. Being cited, they appeared before the 
bifhop,* who mowed himfelf much offended at 
their keeping their hats on; whereupon they 
wrote a letter to the bilhop and his furrogates, 
excufing their conduct on principle— that they 
could not confcientioufly contribute to the repair 

* Dr. jfas. Fleetwood^ who in his younger days, while chap- 
lain to one of the King's regiments, at the Battle of Edgehill carried 
off the young Princes to a place of lately. When Charles II was 
reftored, he prefented Dr. Fleetwood to the biihopric of JVorcefter. 



258 Worcefter Sefts. 

of the churches, which were formerly Popifh 
maff-houfes, with the Pope's badge, the crofs, 
ftuck on one of the ends ; and that the bifhop had 
no caufe to be offended at their hats, when Chrlft 
Himfelf faid, c How can ye believe who feek 
honour one of another, and feek not the honour 
that cometh from God only ? ' Moreover, the 
King, as the chief magiftrate in the nation, had 
ftiown no anger at thofe who had appeared before 
him with their hats on." 

On the 27th of June, 168 1, John Bowater 
was committed to Worcefter gaol at the fuit of 
Thos. Wilmot^ prieft of Bromfgrove, for fmall 
tithes, and removed to the Fleet prifon, and while 
there, a heifer worth 1/. 10s. was taken from 
him. Chriftmas Day of the fame year was 
fignalifed by a fheriff's bailiff, named Horfnett^ 
and his followers coming to the meeting at 
Worcefter^ where " he afked who was the 
preacher ? A rude boy {landing by pointed to 
a woman, and faid fhe was, which was not true, 
the meeting being altogether filent. Neverthe- 
lefs this fellow went and fwore before the mayor, 
not only that there was a conventicle but that 
the woman preached at it. They alfo fwore 
that F. Fincher was at that meeting, who was 
then twenty- two miles off, and that John Warelng 
was there, who was then out of town. They* 
alfo fwore that H. Haydon and his wife were 



Society of Friends. 259 

there, who appeared to-day to have been at their 
parifli church and received the facrament there. 
The uncertainty of fuch men's evidence con- 
fidered, the jury refufed to find any bill of indict- 
ment, neverthelefs the juftices at the feffions 
fined feveral perfons upon that evidence and 
made an order for diftrefs, taking pewter, goods 
in houfes and mops, malt, a mare, boards, &c, 
to the value of 68/. 115., from eight prifoners, 
namely J. Allihone, J. Hunt, W. Pardoe, S. 
Morley, T. Hajkett, T. Jukes, G. Robert, and 
J. Knight." 

About this time — 12th month, 1681 — Ed. 
Bourne again writes to Fox, faying that " he and 
three other friends had been excommunicated ; 
that a parifh meeting had been called to pay for 
a writ to throw them into prifon, to which the 
mayor mowed his unwillingnefs. Bourne had 
fpoken to a friend to go to the faid meeting to 
perfuade them againft raifing the money required 
till they had heard them in felf-defence \ but he 
omitted to go, and c now it iriuft be as it may. 
They be very fierce here at prefent in taking 
account of us and all difTenters, forry informers 
having a mind to rob and fpoil us of what we have ; 
but their work goes on not fo faft as they would 
have it, the magiftrate little countenancing them 
in it.' " In the following year a writ de excom. 
cap. was procured, by means of which Ed. Bourne 



26o 



Wore eft er Seels. 



was more clofely confined, and Allibone^ Knight^ 
and R. Hill^ were alfo committed to Worcefter 
prifon, about the end of May, from whence they 
publifhed a ftatement of their cafe " for the con- 
fideration of their neighbours, many of whom 
had not confented to their imprifonment, but 
were overruled by the power of fuch among 
them as were under the influence of the bifhop 
and his ecclefiaftics." The cafe was "recom- 
mended to the inhabitants of Worcefter to view 
and well confider of," the writers fhowing that 
they had been imprifoned for doing no evil, but 
for perfuading people to dwell together in love 
and fear the Lord^ and quoting Scripture cof t- 
oufly in their defence. 



"The wardens of Nicholas parilh had demanded 
$s. of us towards the repairs of ye church, fo- 
called, which we could not pay becaufe we be- 
lieved we fliould offend the Lord in doing it, and 
not becaufe we loved our money fo well that we 
could not part with it. Thefe wardens caufed 
us to be cited in the Chancellor's Court, where 
we after appeared, and wrote to them to fatisfy 
them concerning ourfelves, and to have fatisfa&ion 
from them ; which they have not yet anfwered, 
nor never will, we believe ; through whofe doings 
we are excommunicated — that is, delivered up 
to the devil, as it is faid, which is fad to confider 
of, for we have done them no wrong, and Chrift 
fays c Love your enemies.' Now if they were 



Society of Friends. 26 1 

Chriffs true followers, do you believe they would 
deal thus by us ? We do not believe they would. 
And do not thefe cry down the Papifts for their 
cruelty— the inquifitors of Spain for their perfe- 
ction — and fay they are anti-Chriftian therein ? 
But fatisfy us who can, whether a better fpirit be 
the guide of thefe in their doings than fuch are 
guided by, and whether it be not one and the 
self-fame fpirit which guides the one that guides 
the other. But for what they have done againft: 
us, we fay, the Lord forgive them ! " 

On the ift of July, 1683, fixteen perfons were 
taken at a meeting at Worcefter, and detained by 
the officers till the time of public worfhip was 
over, when they were taken to the Town Hallj 
after which they were fent for to come before 
the mayor and aldermen, and were committed 
to prifon ; their names were, T. Hqfkett y W. 
Par 'doe , H. Weft on, J. Knight, J. Hunt, Job 
Wareing, H. Smart, R. Roberts, W. Matthews, 
T. Me nee y R. Walker, T. Reeves, E. Stanton, 
Walter Par doe, Cornelius Harrifon, and Ed. Jones. 
The charge againft them was " for riotoufly and 
unlawfully affembling in the dwelling-houfe of a 
perfon unknown in Friar Street/' From this it 
would appear that their place of meeting was as 
yet a private dwelling-houfe. On the next court 
day, as the prifoners refufed to take the oath or 
to give fureties for good behaviour, they were 
fent back to prifon, and at the following feffions 



262 Wore eft er Seels. 

they were indi&ed for being at a conventicle and 
refufing to fwear, but their trial was deferred till 
February 25th, when they were fined — T. 
Mence 4/. 191., Pardee 401., Reeves 30s., five 
others 20s. each, fix others 10s. each, and the 
other two 5*. each; in all 16/. igs. Many dif- 
traints were made this year, including one on 
John Newcomb, by warrant from the Lord Ward, 
of 'Dudley Caftle, and Juftice Foley, of Stourbridge, 
and one on Wm. Little, a very poor man, who 
had taken from him his wretched bed of chaff", 
a blanket, a table, grate, &c, worth altogether 
only ioj.! At the following aflizes, the Quakers 
then in prifon wrote a letter to the judges and 
another to the jurors, appealing to their merciful 
confideration of the petitioners, who were fuf- 
fering for confeience fake ; but an indictment 
was found againft feveral of them, and they were 
fined 20/. each — a large fum in thofe days — and 
all of them continued in prifon. In the parifh 
books of St. Helen's, in this city, under date of 
the fame year (1683) is a lift of the "names of 
pore perfons who had coats, &c, fent by Mr. 
Fra. Haynes when he was mayor, as were bought 
with ye Quakers' money;" — no doubt from the 
fines levied upon this perfecuted fedt. Alfo in 
St. Nicholas parifh it was ordered to profecute all 
defaulters in the Ecclefiaftical Court, except 
Quakers, who were to be brought before the 
magiftrates. 



Society of Friends . 263 

This was a period of great perfecution, when 
I find in the Quakers' books frequent complaints 
of members "who are flack in coming to meeting 
in thefe troublefome and fuffering times." Ano- 
ther curious entry occurs in the year 1683 : 

" Ordered, that George Fox's paper concerning 
marrying within a year be copied out of a book 
called Te Mirrour ofjuftices^ in which thofe who 
marry within a year after their wife or hufband's 
death are declared fit to be punifhed by corporal 
punifnment in divers manners." 

This is a fingular item, as apparently contra- 
di£ting Fox's well-known opinions againft coercion 
and corporal punifhment, and there is probably 
fome miftake here which I am unable to explain. 

A petition to Charles II from the prifoners in 
Worcefter gaol was drawn up in April, 1684, 
begging for the royal mercy as they had been 
incarcerated nearly two years, and expreffing the 
utmoft loyalty to His Majefty and refignation 
under their hard lot. This was figned by " Thy 
peaceable fubje£ts called Quakers" — Stanton^ 
Bourne , Knight^ Jones ^ Harrifon^ Reeves , Smart^ 
Mence, and Goulborne ; and it was dated " from 
the prifon of the city of Wore eft er^ where the 
Lord delivered thee out of the hand of thy 
enemies (alluding to His Majefty's efcape after 
the Battle of Worcefter)^ whofe loving kindnefs to 



264 Worcefter Seffs. 

thy throne pleafe to requite by fhowing mercy 
unto us, according to His will, that thou mayeft 
be blefled therein." The refult of this appeal is 
not recorded, but on the 29th of the 8th 
month — juft half a year after the petition had 
been fent up, feveral of the petitioners were ftill 
in prifon, as I find in an entry under the above 
date, which fets forth that 

" An account by poft letter was given to 
Rich. Richardfon, in London, of friends' prefent 
fufferings in Worcefter, to be laid before the 
fupreme authority of the nation, as hee and 
friends of the meeting for fufferings defired \ 
which was as followeth : In the city prifon of 
Worcefter, prifoners therein and belonging unto 
it, ten in number, viz., Ed. Bourne and Rd. 
Hill, who have been prifoners by the writ de 
ex com. cap. about two years and a half; Thos. 
Reeves, Henry Smart, Thos. Mince, Edw. Jones, 
John Wood, John Hunt, Jofeph Allibon, and Geo. 
Roberts, who were taken from their peaceable 
meeting, where all were filent, being kept out 
of their meeting-place, the magistrates having 
caufed the doore to bee lockt up, neere which 
they were waiting upon God in fylence, and 
imprifoned. It feems they would make theire 
foe afTembling together to be a riot ; of which 
number two were forth on fecurity given for 
them which they knew not of, it feems, till it 
was done. The meeting they were taken from 
was the laft firft-day, which was the 26th day 
of the 8th .month, 1684. Alfo fince, of three 



Society of Friends. 265 

friends who died in prifon, and whilft prifoners 
fince the King came in. There were four dyed 
in prifon, and prifoners, the laft of which was 
Rich. Roberts^ of which an account may be given 
when convenient." And on the 9th of the I ft 
month, 1684-5, ft was "agreed upon by this 
meeting that Henry Smart records friends of this 
place and county's fufferings, in the book for 
fufrerings, and take the books from the printer 
which he mall fend for the fervice of truth, and 
difpofe of them as is ufual for that fervice, and to 
record marriages, births, and burials, amongft 
us." 

In May, 1685, the Quakers imprifoned at 
Worcefter drew up a reprefentation of their cafe, 
directed to " the knights and burgefTes of the 
city and county of Worcefter chofen to be mem- 
bers of Parliament," defiring them to plead their 
cafe. 

u Some of us (fay they) are prifoners and have 
been fo long in the city of Worcefter^ and one 
in the county prifon by a writ de excom. cap. y 
for not contributing a fmall matter towards the 
repair of the parifh place of worfhip where we 
lived, and others for meeting together peaceably 
to worfhip God, and otherwife by priefts and 
informers. Many of us have fuffered much by 
imprifonment and the fpoiling of our goods for 
non-payment of tithes to the priefts, which to 
pay is according to the Jewijh priefthood, which 
Chrift put an end to ; and for not giving them 
what they would have us, and for peaceably 



266 



Wore eft er Seels. 



meeting together to worfhip God; the which we 
are ftill liable to "if not prevented ; and fome 
have been profecuted by the a£l for 20/. a month 
for not coming to church ; and indeed we can fay 
thefe fufferings are come upon us not for our 
obftinacy and wilfulnefs — though fome may fay 
we are felf-willed — but it is becaufe we fear God 
and are willing to approve our hearts to Him \ 
and we do believe you yourfelves know we are 
peaceable, and injurious to no man. Wherein 
we differ from others in religion it is only about 
the matter of our God, in which cafe tendernefs 
ought to be fhown unto us, according to His 
holy will. And this is all that we defire therein, 
fo pleafe to confider of our cafe who hereby are 
expofed to ruin, with our families, and do for us 
as you would be done for yourfelves were it your 
cafe as it is ours, that the Lord may delight in 
you, and not enter into controverfy with you for 
your omiffion herein. So, hoping you will con- 
fider hereof, and do for us as herein we have 
defired, truly defiring your welfare, we remain — 
T. Reeves, H. Smart, J. Hunt, T. Mince, Ed. 
Bourne, W. Par doe, Ed. Jones, J. Woodward,' 9 
&c. 



Our next note is not till the year 1687, when 
Wm. Sankey was committed to prifon in the 
caftle of Worcefter, at the fuit of John Vernon, 
prieft of Martley, for refufing to pay tithes, and 
fubfequently an execution was levied on his 
goods, when nine cows, worth 27/., were 
feized to pay 7/. 151. 



Society of Friends. 267 

In the life of William Lloyd^ bifhop of Worcef- 
ter^ that prelate is faid to have cc difcourfed with 
the Quakers/' and moreover they appear to 
have experienced more kindnefs at his lordfhip's 
hands than from many others of the ecclefiaftical 
body. It is alfo faid that when the feven bifhops 
(of whom Lloyd was one, being then bifhop of 
St. Afaph) were imprifoned in the Tower by the 
infatuated James II in 1688, Richard Davis ^ a 
Quaker, was the only perfon who vifited the 
bifhop in that place — a circumftance which 
perhaps accounts for his lordfhip's partiality. 

Soon after this period the acceflion of William 
III brought with it toleration and comparative 
comfort to the diftrefled Quakers, whofe annoy- 
ances after this time were confiderably lefs in 
degree, and the minute books are more occupied 
with matters of internal difcipline. For inftance, 
in 1695, it was ordered that Rebekah Roberts 
fhould be " paid 151. a quarter for eight fcholars, 
which is the full fum of the donor's will, and to 
give account to the monthly meeting how the 
fcholars come on in their learning." About the 
fame time there appears to have been much 
drowfinefs at the meetings, as an entry occurs to 
this effe£t : 

u The unwatchfulnefs of fome that frequent 
our meeting having been a burden and grief to the 
faithful, it was ordered that effectual care may be 



268 



IVorcefter SeSfs. 



taken to prevent this fleeping in our public meet- 
ings, by tenderly advifing fuch as are apt to be 
overtaken therewith, and to let them know they 
muft be openly dea.c with if a more private 
admonition will not do." 

Here is an interefting memorandum on the 
fubjeft of drefs, which occurs in the fame year 

(i6 95 ): 

" Forafmuch as it hath been the good advice 
of our friends of the yearly meeting that friends 
fhall in all plainnefs fo habitt themfelves as truth 
requires, and to lay afide thofe flowerd and ftrip't 
ftuffes, with the changeable fafhions of this 
world, it is thought meet by this meeting that 
what in us lyes it may be putt for the future into 
practice, and that none doe weare them or fell 
them when thofe by them are difpojed of; that thofe 
confcientioufly concerned may be eafed, and 
truth kept cleare of thofe things ; alfo that friends 
take care to train up their children in the fear of 
the Lord, and bring them up not only in plain- 
nefs of habit but take care to bring them up in 
plain language alfo, that there may be no good 
Nehemiah grieved to hear half Hebrew and half 
Ajhdod fpoken." 

On the 4th of the 8th month, 1697, it was 
ordered " That Sarah Barnett do goe once a 
day or oftner to the prifon at the caftle in 
Worcefter, to fee what is wanting with our 
friend, Dan. Tipper, a prifoner there, that he 
may be fupplied." 



Society of Friends. 269 

To fhow the animus at that time prevailing 
againft the Quakers, in the chancel of Areley 
Kings church may ftill be feen a flat ftone with 
this infcription : 

" Here lieth the body of Wm. Walfh, gentle- 
man, who died on the 3rd day of November, 
1702, aged 88 years, fon of Michael Waljh, of 
Great Shelfley, who left him a fine eftate in 
Sheljley, Hartlebury^ and Areley ; who was ruinated 
by three quakers^ three lawyers^ and a fanatic to 
help them." 

The witty Wm. Waljh^ the poet, of Abberley, 
to whom Pope afcribed 

" The cleareft head and the fincereft heart," 

is fuppofed to have been the author of the above 
epitaph, but the circumftances which evoked fo 
angry a denunciation of his enemies are unknown 
to me. 

The record of " fufferings" was ftill continued 
from time to time, on the fcore of church rates, 
tithes, recalling of bells, repair of " fteeple- 
houfes," &c, which the Quakers were as firm 
in refilling as before. Printed papers of thefe 
inftances of perfecution were procured by them 
and diftributed among fuch of the gentry, magis- 
tracy, and members of Parliament, as were likely 
.to exercife their influence in advancing the caufe 






270 



Wore eft er Seels. 




of toleration. An inftance occurs in the 
170O5 when there is an entry of 

cc Delivered to Ed. Bourne papers of the excef- 
five fufferings of friends, fome of whom were 
fold to Juftice Cox, 'Squire Bromley, 'Squire 
Welch, Sir J. Pakington, Aid. Swift, Fra. Win- 
nington, T, Foley, &c. 

And again in 1709 — 

cc That Jas. Pardoe and John Wood do take 
care that the books are delivered to the Parlia- 
ment men of this county, that they may anfwer 
the end for which they were printed." 

At a later period (1720), Jas. Pardoe, Ed. 
Harrifon, T. Ford, and J. Wood, were appointed 
" to draw up an account as well as they can, in 
• anfwer to the defire of the meeting for fufferings, 
in relation to the firft public friends yt came 
into this county." The term " public " friends, 
I am informed, probably means miniftering (or 
what we mould call preaching) members. 

In 1 73 1 5 Julius Palmer, Wm. Roberts, and 
Wm. Cowles, were profecuted in the Ecclefiaftical 
Court " for not paying towards rebuilding the 
worfhip houfe of the parifh called St. Nicholas, 
Worcefter." The demands on them were re- 
fpedtively 1/., 2/., and 51.4^. 

It has already been ftated that the yearly or 
general meeting in London fent annually a lift of 



Society of Friends* 271 

Tcs to each congregation throughout the 
country, with the view of preferring difcipline 
and felf-examination. A fpecimen of thefe queries 
for the year 1708 is now fubjoined : 

M Queftions thought needful to be afkt by the 
monthly meetings. 

" 1. — Are your meetings kept up for worfhip 
both firfr and week-days, and do you keep up yr 
collections ? 

" 2. — Doth truth profper in yr meetings, and 
what reception hath it amongft ye people ? 

" 3. — Are friends in love and unity one with 
another ? 

"4. — Doth any perfon of yr meeting travail 
as a miniftering friend yt is not in unity with 
you ? 

" 5. — Is care taken to advife friends yt they 
do not run fo far in debt as to bring a reproach 
on truth and friends ? 

" 6. — Are friends faithful in their teftimony 
againft the payment of tithes, fteeple-houfe rates, 
&c? 

"7. — Is there a record kept of marriages, 
births, and burials ? 

" 8. — Are friends advifed to infpe£t their out- 
ward affairs, and make their wills in time ? 

"9. — Do you keep to truth's language and 
plainnefs of habitt, and endeavour to train up yr 
children therein ? 

" 10. — Do you endeavour to p'vent idlenefs 
and fleepinefs in yr meetings ? 

"11, — Do you endeavour that yr members 
(as much as may be) are of a blamelefs converfa- 






272 IVorcefter SeSfs. 

tion ; and fuch as are not, are they dealt withall ? 

" 12. — Are two faith full friends appointed to 
vifit the families of friends ? 

" 13. — Do friends fit retired with their fami- 
lies to wait upon the Lord, and do they frequently 
read the Holy Scriptures ? 

" 14. — Are friends mindful at fuitable times to 
read the abftra£r. of the yearly meeting's epiftles 
from London in their monthly meetings, or in 
fuch other meetings or places as may feem con- 
venient ? 

" 15. — Are friends clear of defrauding the 
King of his dutys, cuftoms, &c. ? " 

Similar queries, though fomewhat modified, 
are ftill, I believe, received from the yearly 
meeting. Nor was the bufinefs of the monthly 
meetings confined to matters of difcipline and 
external deportment in religion and morals, but 
extended to the politics of the day, for in 1721 a 
meeting was appointed to be held to confider, 
among other things, u how our friends ought to 
behave themfelves in cafe of an election to Par- 
liament ; " and at the faid meeting it was deter- 
mined " to keep clear from taking any bribes 
relating to choofing members of Parliament." 
Confiderable attention was alfo paid to the educa- 
tion of their youth, and in 1725 a committee of 
Quakers were defired "to make enquiry after a 
young man qualified to teach Latin, as mafter 
or ufher in the fchool." There is very little 



Society of Friends. 273 

elfe to notice in the minute books, except that 
in 1 74 1 it was agreed not to ereft grave-ftones 
in the burying-ground, but no reafon is afligned 
for this ftep -> and various " difownments " fub- 
fequently took place, including Mark Barrett, 
for frequenting the play-houfe, Eliz. Power , for 
becoming an a£trefs, and Jejfe Bay lie, for ef- 
poufing the opinions of Joanna Southcote. 

A large number of diaries and journals have 
been publifhed by members of this fociety, efpe- 
cially during the eighteenth century, a few brief 
extra£ts from which will fhow what thefe " minif- 
tering friends " (1. e. itinerant minifters, both 
male and female) thought of the condition of 
Ouakerifm in Wore eft er at various periods. 

Samuel Bownas, a native of Weftmor eland, 
travelled into Wore eft erjhire about the year 1700, 
being then fo young a man that fome of the 
u elders " at Wore eft er did not at firft feem in- 
clined to put faith in his credentials. He fays — 

" Was at Worcefter on firft-day, and after the 
meeting in the forenoon an ancient friend exa- 
mined me very clofely, after meeting was over, 
from whence I came and for a certificate ; to all 
which I gave him anfwers. My certificate being 
at my quarters in my faddle-bag, he could not 
then fee it, but I had a very good meeting as I 
thought ; and my landlord, Wm. Pardoe, a brave 
fenfible elder, advifed me not to be uneafy at the 



274 TVorcefter Sefts. 

old friend's examining me fo, for, faid he, he 
does fo to every ftranger. We went to meeting 
in the afternoon, which was very large, and I 
was largely opened, and had, as I thought, very 
good fervice ; but the old friend after the meeting 
was upon me in the fame ftrain to fee my certi- 
ficate, but I had it not then about me neither, at 
which he feemed much difpleafed. I made no 
reply, but told him I was very willing he fhould 
fee it ; but my landlord took him up and told 
him he thought the young man had already 
fhown us his beft certificate in both the meet- 
ings ; but neverthelefs, faid he, come to my 
houfe in the evening, and thou fhalt fee it ; and 
fo we parted. My landlord thought he had 
fhown himfelf difagreeable in his conduct, and 
fearing it would be any uneafinefs to me, fpoke 
very tenderly, and like a nurfing father encou- 
raged me by faying I could not {how him a bet- 
ter confirmation that I was anointed for the 
miniftry than I had already done. So in the 
evening, after it was dark, he and many other 
friends came, but my landlord, the old friend, 
and I, went afide, and I let him fee what he 
defired fo much to fee. He read it, being 
much pleafed with it, and knowing fundry friends 
that had figned it, inquired after them. We 
went to our friends again, who were much in- 
creafed in number, and we had a heavenly feafon, 
being thoroughly baptifed together. We parted 
in great love and fweetnefs, and the old friend 
was exceeding kind." Samuel Bownas again 
vifited the city in 1740 and 1746, and " had 
meetings to very good fatis faction." 



Society of Friends. 275 

In 1703, Wm. Edmundfon, another itinerating 
friend, vifited Worcefter, where he attended feve- 
ral meetings, " which were large, and friends 
well comforted in the Lord, whofe prefence was 
with us in a plentiful manner. Next day we 
went to Tewkefbury" 

Thomas Story, in his journal, records feveral 
vifits to Worcefter: the firft was " On firft of 
third month (1718) went forward to the city of 
Worcefter, and lodged with fames Pardo. The 
next day I was at their week-day meeting, which 
confifted moftly of friends, and the Lord gave us 
an open comfortable time together, affording 
to us His comfortable prefence." In 1723, 
eighth month, 20 th, " Went to Worcefter, and 
on the 2 1 ft, being the firft of the week, was at 
their meeting forenoon and afternoon \ the latter 
was very large and open, and the gofpel preached 
in the demonftration and authority of it to 
general fatis faction." Again, on the 26th of 
fecond month, 1731, " Went to Worcefter, to 
the widow Pardoe's, and the next day had a large 
and open meeting there; many of thofe called 
gentry, with military officers and others, being 
prefent, and the authority of truth over all. That 
evening we vifited feveral families in town." 
On the firft of the feventh month, 1733 — 



276 Wore eft er Seels. 

" We went to Wore eft er^ where I lodged at 
yames Pardoe's^ and found John Fallowfield and 
John Baker in town from London , having been at 
the week-day meeting here the fixth day before. 
There being feveral ftrangers in town, the friends 
appointed their meeting next day in the great 
meeting-houfe, and gave notice to many of the 
inhabitants of fome ftrangers to be with them, 
and I fuppofed named fome names ; upon which 
we had a large open meeting in the forenoon, 
many of the inhabitants being prefent ; and the 
time of the afternoon meeting being put off till 
three o'clock, we had a very great crowd of the 
more refpectable part of the inhabitants, and 
feveral of the aldermen and other magiftrates, 
fome of our friends telling us afterwards that they 
had never known fo full a meeting there but 
once at a yearly meeting. That which fell to 
my fhare in this meeting was to open the nature 
of that compofure called the Apoftles' Creed, 
upon which I was enlarged .and drawn out to 
expatiate with good authority and perfpicuity, 
taking exception at that period therein c He 
defcended into hell,' obferving to them that Chrift 
faid to the thief upon the crofs, c This day thou 
fhalt be with me in paradife ;' upon which I put 
this queftion — c What was this thou in the thief, 
and this me in the Lord Jefus, to be to-day in 
paradife, when the body of the thief was broken 
on the crofs, after the manner of criminals, and 
the body of Chrift laid down in the fepulchre till 
the third day : what then remained of Chrift to 
go down into hell, as he was ftated with the 
dead in the foregoing period, viz., was crucified, 
dead, and buried ?' But fince the perfons com- 



/ 
/ 



Society of Friends . 277 

poling that creed, long fince the days of the 
apoifies, might bring it as near as they could to 
the tenor of the Scriptures, and finding an ex- 
preilion in the Pfalms of David to this purpofe — 
1 Thou (halt not leave my foul in hell, nor fuffer 
Thy holy one to fee corruption' — feem to have 
milapplied it to Chrift after His crucifixion, 
whereas it is properly applicable to Him as ftated 
in the time of prayer in the garden, when, hav- 
ing the weight of His approaching fufFerings and 
of the fins of all mankind upon Him, being in an 
iniupportable agony, grappling with death, hell, 
and the grave, in human nature, the drops of 
lweat that came from His body being, as it were, 
like great drops of blood, and having overcome 
all this, He the next day willingly laid down His 
life on the crofs, in the will of the Father^ and 
from thenceforth triumphed over them all." 

Again, in 1735, Thomas Story's journal ftates — 

" 2Sth fecond month, I went to Wore eft er^ to 
James Pardee's^ and the day after being their 
meeting day, it was put off till three in the after- 
noon, and notice given, which occafioned the 
meeting to be conliderably large, and the Lord 
favoured us with His good prefence, and opened 
to us the Scriptures, both of the Old and New 
Teftament, with brightnefs and authority, to 
general fatisfaction both of friends and others, for 
which we were thankful unto Him who hath all 
wifdom and power, and without whom we can 
do nothing. Yet this meeting was fo hard to 
me, for fome time in filence, and the people 
to very heavy, that it put me in mind of a faying 



278 J For c eft 67' Seels. 

of the apoftle, l If the dead rile not, why are we 
baptiied for the dead?' But as foon as a little 
help from the Lord appeared, all weaknefs and 
all the power of death vanifhed as darknefs be- 
fore the dav, and then in Him I aroie and pre- 
vailed ; and fo let it be with all His minifters 
in all places from henceforth throughout all 
generations. xAmen." 

James Gough, of Kendal, in 1737, " from 
Gloucefter rid to Worcefter^ and ftaid there at my 
kind friend, TVilliam Beejlefs, over third dav. 
The week-day meeting there was to me a ten- 
dering feaibn, both in filence and under the lively 
miniftry of old John Czrbya" 

It was cuftomary with the Quakers, when any 
member of their fociety died who were diftin- 
guifhed for pietv and worth, to M bear teftimony" 
concerning them, and thefe testimonies have 
been collected at various times and publifhed ; 
among them is one in 1752, to the John Corbyn, 
of Worcefter, mentioned above, as follows : 

" A teftimony from the monthly meeting of 
Worcejier concerning John Corbyn. Our ancient 
and well-beloved friend was born in the aforefaid 
citv, and was convinced of the bleiTed truth 
about the eighteenth year of his age, and by a 
diligent and fervent waiting thereon he grew 
ftrong in faith and zealous for the propagation 
of the Golpel of our Lord and Saviour Jejiu 



Society of Friends. 279 

Chrift ; and when about the thirty-fourth year 
of his age he came forth in a public teftimony 
in great tendernefs and Gofpel fimplicity, and 
continued frefti and lively in the exercife of his 
gift until a few days before his death, to the 
general fatisfa&ion and comfort of the fincere 
hearted. He travelled as a minifter divers times 
into feveral parts of England and Wales, in the 
unity and with the approbation of the meeting to 
which he belonged, and we believe had good 
fervice in his labour of love, and that it had a 
tendency to ftrengthen the weak, comfort the 
afflicted, and ftir up the indolent to diligence in 
religious concerns both at home and abroad. He 
was very exemplary in attending meetings, both 
for worfhip and difcipline, and folicitous to main- 
tain love and unity amongft friends ; and when 
he apprehended anything of a contrary nature 
like to prevail it gave him great uneafinefs and 
conflict of mind till he faw peace reftored, and 
that pernicious weed, difcord, extirpated. In 
contributions of charity he was liberal, and in 
hofpitality remarkably generous. He retained 
his integrity, underftanding, and memory, to his 
end. Much might be faid of this our worthy 
friend, but we fhall only add, that we reft well 
aflured that he finifhed in peace and a well- 
grounded hope of an immortal crown of righteouf- 
nefs which is laid up for all thofe who love the 
appearing of our Lord and Saviour Chrift. He 
departed this life the 30th of ift month, and was 
interred the ift of 2nd month, 1752, in the 
Friends' burial ground in Worcefter, in the eighty- 
third year of his age." 



280 Worcefter Seels. 

Candia, wife of John Corbyn, iurvived her 
hufband fifteen years, having died in 1767, at 
the age of ninety-fix, after ferving in the miniftry 
for feventy-three years. 

In the year 1749, Daniel Stanton, of Phila- 
delphia, pailed through this city, and fays in his 
diary — "At Worcefter the meetings were large 
and folid, and though fome profeflbrs appeared to 
be gone out from the way of the felf-denying life, 
in much liberty and extravagance, yet I believe 
it was a time of vifitation to their fouls." 

Samuel Neale, a " miniftering friend," vifited 
Worcefter in 1753, and in his journal fays : 

" At Worcefter met my endeared friend, 
Catherine Pay ion. I ftaid both meetings on firft- 
day, which were remarkably fatisfadtory to me. 
The pure life fuccoured, and I was helped to 
difcharge myfelf beyond my expectation. In the 
evening we had the company of feveral friends 
in a religious fitting, which was very refrefhing 
and comforting \ and though the apprehenfion of 
being fingly at that meeting had been trying, and 
fearfulnefs had covered my mind, yet my good 
Mafter made it eafy and joyful to me, additionally 
fo by cafting His fervant's lot there at the fame 
time who had been fo great an inftrument in 
His gracious hand towards my convincement 
and converfion ; for which continual mercies 
may I be favoured to hear with humility and 
attention the words that He condefcends to fpeak 
to my foul, that fo I may obey, and witnefs true 



Society of Friends, 281 

peace to flow in my bofom ; for at this time I 
can fay, all that I crave is ability to worfhip 
the infinite all- wife Being aright in fpirit and in 
truth.'' 

John Churchman, of Pennfylvania, in 1754, in 
a journey through England, came from Bromj grove 
to IVorcefter, and — " On firft-day was at two 
comfortable meetings, and another on the third 
day, and the next day attended the quarterly 
meeting, which was a precious time, wherein 
friends were comforted ; and finding a concern 
on my mind, I went into the women's meeting, 
wherein the power of truth accompanied, which 
is the crown of our religious meetings. Here is 
a tender feed, efpecially amongft the female fex, 
who will thrive if this divine power is kept unto. 
Being now clear of this city, I departed with 
peace to the meeting at Tewkejbury" 

In 1756, Catharine Phillips, daughter of Henry 
Payton of Dudley (whofe wife was the daughter 
of Henry and Elizabeth Fowler of Eve/ham), 
travelled confiderably in her miniftrations, and on 
arriving at Worcefter, her diary ftates — 

u Here it appeared right for me to get an 
opportunity, with fome of the moft experienced 
friends of this city, that we might together con- 
fider about fetting forward the good work of 
vifiting the families of friends in this county, 
of which I had a view before I reached home from 
Ireland, and when I came there I found that a 



282 Worcefter Setts. 

general vifit to friends' families throughout the 
nation had been recommended by the laft yearly 
meeting at London. I therefore found freedom 
to offer myfelf to affift in that fervice, provided 
the fame could be accomplifhed fo as not to inter- 
fere with my other profpe£ts of duty. I alfo 
recommended to the friends prefent the eftab- 
lifhment of a meeting for minifters and elders in 
the quarterly meeting of this county. We were 
eminently favoured in this opportunity, and I left 
the city in peace, and with a hope of fome con- 
clufion being come to at our next quarterly 
meeting. I ftaid at home a few weeks, being 
clofely engaged in writing. On the 22nd of 
nth month I went to Worcefter to attend our 
quarterly meeting, under a weighty exercife of 
fpirit, having an intention, if friends mould accede 
to the aforefaid propofition of vifiting families, to 
ftay and join them therein. Our quarterly meet- 
ing was attended in a good degree with the divine 
prefence, yet the fervice of it was hard and 
laborious. Friends were backward in regard to 
giving in their names to enter upon the vifit 
to families, concluding themfelves unfit for fo 
weighty a work. However fome were nominated 
with whom I united, and concluded to ftay and 
fee how Providence might favour the undertaking. 
I began in great felf-diffidence, and went through 
tlie families of friends in the city ; but the Lord 
was with me, and frequently clothed me with 
ftrength and wifdom fuited to the occafion. I 
was confiderably favoured whilft in the city in 
the exercife of my gift in the public meeting of 
friends, took leave of them in much love, and 
left it in peace and thankfulnefs." 



Society of Friends. 283 

She was accompanied by Mary Oldbury, a 
young woman of IVorcefter, "who had an accep- 
table gift in the miniftry;" they vifited Perjhore 
(where there was a meeting-houfe but no refident 
members), Evejham, Shipfton, &c. 

John Griffiths, of Pennfylvania, in a journey 
through Worcefter in 1758, "attended their firft- 
day meeting, and was mournfully affe&ed therein 
with a fenfe of lukewarmnefs in many profeffors, 
finding it very hard for the life and power of 
truth to arife into dominion, fo as to make them 
fenfible of their ftates. My labour was for the 
moft part in filence, though I had fome clofe 
public fervices. Went from thence to Evejham" 

Ruth Follows, in 1763, "vifited IVorcefter ; 
remained feveral days, vifiting fick friends and 
attending meetings for worfhip, alfo the monthly 
meeting, where I could have been glad if more 
of the women friends had attended ; however I 
think I may fay we were favoured with the love 
of God, not only in the meeting for difcipline, 
but in that for worfliip, and enabled to offer 
thankfgiving and praife to His moft holy name, 
who is alone worthy thereof. From Worcefter I 
departed in much peace, accompanied by feveral 
friends to Tewkefbury" Again, in 1785, fhe 
reached JVorcefter, "and lodged at our kind 
friend Timothy Bevington's, where at their meet- 
ings on firft-day were alfo Patience Brayton and 



284 Worcefter Se&s. 

her companion. On fecond day my dear com- 
panion left me, flie being very defirous to get 
home, but I was not eafy to leave Worcefter fo 
foon, and I ftaid more than a week longer, in 
which time I vifited feveral of my acquaintance, 
had feveral fatis factory feafons, and was much 
favoured at fome of their public meetings, fo that 
I came away with fweet peace." 

Martha Routh (daughter of Henry and Jane 
Winter, of Stourbridge), in her journal, about the 
year 1787, fays — 

" I had for fome time had an opening profpe£t 
of religious duty, not only to vifit the meetings 
but alfo the families of friends in * Wore eft erfhire, 
my native county, and with this impreffion was 
led to look towards Martha Howarth, a member 
of our quarterly meeting, as a companion. When 
the time came for moving, being furnifhed with 
certificates from our refpedtive monthly meet- 
ings, we fet forward by way of Che/hire and Coal- 
brookdale, and entered the county of Worcefter at 
Dudley, where the ancient and honourable family 
of the Paytons ufed to live, but they were then 
all removed by death or otherwife. Thence we 
went to Stourbridge, where I firft drew breath. 
In the city of Worcefter, as in other places, in 
vifiting the families of friends, we were favoured 
with the company of one in the fituation of an 
elder, who could bear teftimony to what we had 
to minifter, which has always been my choice in 
fuch fervice. This friend, being baptifed with 



Society of Friends. 285 

the one baptifm, could feelingly partake with us 
in the cup of fuffering, and rejoice with us when 
truth was raifed into dominion, that our fpirits 
were tenderly united, and alfo to the feed of God 
in that place. Our labours there clofed with a 
public meeting on the firft-day evening, which 
was a large, open, and fatisfailory opportunity. 
We then took the other fide of the county, and 
were favoured in like manner with the company 
of helpers in the work, which clofed at the 
monthly meeting at Alcefter. I felt prefTed in 
fpirit to return to Tredington, about fix miles 
diftant, to our friends, "John and Sarah Lambley's, 
though the evening was very ftormy, the fnow 
falling very thick. We got there fafely, and 
were taking fome refrefhment, when a young 
man, fon of Thomas Norton, came into the houfe 
and feemed much affeited : his father had been 
threatened with imprifonment for non-payment of 
tithes, and he faid two conftables were at their 
houfe, and talked of taking him part of the way 
to TVorcefter that night. I then believed that 
this was the caufe of my being imprefTed to 
return there, fo we fent the young man back to 
requeft the conftables to ftop awhile, as fome 
friends wiihed to fee his father. The diftance 
was about a mile, and the fnow falling fo thick 
it was not fafe to go any other way but on foot, 
which we willingly did, accompanied by John 
Lambley and his valuable wife. We found 
Thomas Norton in a quiet refigned ftate. The 
men very civilly offered to leave the room and 
withdraw into the kitchen. Our vifit was very 
grateful to him, and feemed to ftrengthen his 
mind in refignation to the permitted trial. His 



286 Wore eft er Seels. 

children alfo feemed more fettled, and the confta- 
bles were willing to ftay in the village till morn- 
ing. On our return through TVorcefter we went 
to fee him in his prifon-houfe, found him very 
compofed, and reading SeweFs hiftory. The 
gaoler and his wife were very kind to him. Some 
fkilful friends in the city, on looking over the 
indi£tment, believed it faulty, and took a coun- 
fel's opinion, who advifed them to bring it to an 
affize trial, which they did, and the judge quafhed 
the indidlment and let the prifoner at liberty in 
open court." 



Sarah Lynes, a travelling minifter, in her diary 
fays — "Was at the fele£t quarterly meeting in 
Worcefter (1798), and was detained vifiting fami- 
lies for three weeks. We had often the com- 
pany of thofe of other focieties at meetings, and 
appointed one for the topping people of the city, 
which was not very large ; and although we had 
fatisfa&ion in being unprofitable fervants — doing 
that which was our duty — my fpirit hath never 
felt relief in Worcefter" 

In the journal of Thomas Shillitoe^ on the 4th 
day of 8th month, 18 12, — "Reached Worcefter 
this evening ; on fifth day fat with friends there, 
in which an evidence was mercifully granted that, 
ftripped as friends here are from outward miniftry, 
the Minifter of minifters was near to help 
thofe who were devoutly depending upon Him. 
After meeting, walked to Tewkefbury" 



Society of Friends. 287 

Mary Capper, of Rugeley, on the ift of the ift 
month, 1821, began her vifit among the JVorcefter 
families of friends. M On the 28th the afternoon 
meeting was largely attended, an invitation having 
been given more efpecially to fervants and appren- 
tices employed by friends. The intent was 
partly anfwered, but there was a mixed company, 
which was not quite fo relieving to the minds of 
thofe on whom the weight of the concern refted, 
as it might otherwife have been. However, 
when we have done what we can wt muft en- 
deavour to be quiet." On the 30th fhe left 
JVorcefter, and paiTed through various towns in 
the county. 

The well-known Elizabeth Fry paid a religious 
vifit to the Midland Counties in 1824, in companv 
with her brother, Samuel Gurney, attended various 
public meetings, and vifited the inmates of JVor- 
cefter gaol. 

Having thus enumerated fome of the leading 
Quakers who vifited JVorcefter from time to time, 
and recorded their opinions of the ftate of 
the fociety here, we may now take a glance 
at thofe of the JVorcefter members who were 
diftinguifhed for their piety or their ufefulnefs 
as " miniltering friends," and whole M tefti- 
monies," made by their furviving brethren, and 
entered on the pages of their books, {till atteft 
their worth, 'rohn Corbyn (1752] and his wife 



/ 



288 Worcefter Seels. 

have been already mentioned. The next in 
order of date is jfos. Bevington, fon of Timothy 
and Hannah Bevington, died 1771, in his twenty- 
firft year. Sarah Stephenfon, born at Whitehaven, 
afterwards refided at Worcefter, with her aunt, 
who had married Samuel Corbyn, entered into the 
miniftry here, and fubfequently fettled in Wilt- 
/hire, but vifited the Wore eft erjhire families in 
1782. Samuel Baker Pumphrey, born in 1801, 
and died before he was twenty-five years of age ; 
he took an aftive part in oppofing the flave trade 
and in promoting the fcriptural education of the 
poor in this city. Mary Beefley, of Worcefter, 
travelled as a minifter about the year 1800. 
Deborah Backhoufe and Elizabeth yohnfon, daugh- 
ters of Rd. and Elizabeth Lowe, of Worcefter, 
the former died in 1827, the latter in 1839. ^- 
Burlingham, fon of "John and Hannah Burling- 
ham, of Worcefter, travelled much as a minifter, 
and died in 1840. Lydia Newman, daughter 
of Robert and Jinn Fry, of Briftol, married 
5T. Newman, of Worcefter, and died in 1849, 
after being a minifter for thirty- four years. 
The laft notable member of the fociety was 
Samuel Darke, who died July 20th, 1856, at 
the good old age of eighty-fix. He was ad- 
mitted into the fociety on the 29th of 2nd 
month, 1793, and remained an a£tive, ufeful, 
and confiftent member for the long period 



Society of Friends, 289 

of fixty-three years, during which time he had 
frequent opportunities of proving that the faith 
which was in him was far beyond the power of 
perfecution to uproot or weaken. Within his 
memory, and that of others ftill living, when 
occafions of public rejoicing occurred for victo- 
ries by the Britifli forces by fea or land, the 
Quakers objecting, on principle, to celebrate 
achievements attended with bloodfhed, were 
made to fuffer feverely by excited mobs, as 
was the cafe in October, 1798, when Nelfon's 
victory of the Nile led to a great demonftration 
in Worcefter, in the courfe of which the windows 
of the Quakers' refidences were fmafhed, their 
mutters nailed up, and they themfelves treated 
with much roughness when they dared to ven- 
ture out. Then, again, for nearly twenty years 
before Samuel Darke joined the Worcefter fociety, 
there had been a conftant commotion on the 
militia queftion : the Quakers uniformly refufing 
to ferve, or to pay for fubftitutes, it became 
a queftion whether the deputy-lieutenants were 
not empowered to provide fubftitutes and to take 
legal fteps for the recovery of the coft from the 
Quakers. In the year 1778, a cafe had been 
inferted in the minute book, giving the opinion of 
E. Thurlow (then Lord Chancellor), that Qua- 
kers could not be legally committed to gaol 
by virtue of the act recited ; and that, if com- 



290 Worcefter Seels. 

mitted, they might be difcharged by habeas corpus. 
When Samuel Darke's turn came to be " drawn" 
into that national force, he refufed either to ferve 
or to pay, and underwent imprifonment in our 
city gaol ; but Mr. Wigley, a barrifter, and fome- 
time M.P. for the city, difcovering a flaw in the 
indictment, obtained his discharge. But by this 
time philanthropy had interfered in our prifon 
difcipline, and gaols were no longer the filthy, 
abominable, life-deftroying places they once were. 
Samuel Darke was kindly treated while in con- 
finement, and ever after enjoyed much notoriety 
on account of his firmnefs of principle and the 
temporary martyrdom it had occafioned. Im- 
prifonment for non-payment of tithes and church 
rates continued up till a comparatively late 
period, when the relief a£ts of George IV and 
William IV confiderably ameliorated the condi- 
tion of the fociety, and paflive refiftance in per- 
mitting the feizure of goods for fums claimed 
became the general practice, Samuel Darke was 
ever among the foremoft of his brethren in 
demonftrating the folly and wickednefs of coer- 
cion in matters of religion ; and at the fame time 
he was the a£tive promoter of every philanthropic 
movement, fuch as temperance, the circulation 
of the Scriptures, home millions, and againfl the 
flave trade, the corn laws, and capital punifh- 
ments. The following tribute to his memory is 






Society of Friends, 291 

copied from the Wore eft er Herald of July 26, 
1856: 

" Our obituary of to-day records the departure 
from this life, at a good old age, of a man who, 
in his way, prefented many claims to the title of 
extraordinary. Samuel Darke was a confiftent 
member of the Society of Friends, and, indeed, 
fo confiftent that his oppofition to the powers 
that be — carried as it was, in fome refpects, 
beyond the pale deemed reasonable, even by the 
advanced liberal fection of the people — had 
always in it fomething refpectable. Mr. Darke 
was an unwearied worker — not a man of the 
tongue, but a doer of deeds — in the great caufe 
of negro emancipation and the abolition of the 
flave trade. How ardently, too, and unweariedly 
he would labour to prevent the punifhment of 
death following upon wretched criminals within 
his fphere of action. We well remember having 
had the privilege of cooperating with him in an 
earneft endeavour to avert judicial death from 
one whofe execution we regarded as difcreditable 
to the county, on the ground that the unhappy 
wretch was, and had been from childhood, of 
infane mind. We did not fucceed, but we (hall 
never forget the patient toil which the aged man 
underwent in travelling dozens of miles on foot 
to procure what proved at laft unavailing tefti- 
mony of the truth of the fa£r.s upon which we 
relied. His great exertions in the anti-flavery 
caufe were acknowledged by fome of his fellow 
citizens in 1839, when they prefented him with 
a neat time-piece bearing the following infcrip- 
tion : c To Samuel Darke ^ for thirteen years 



292 Worcefter Seels. 

acting fecretary to the Worcefter Anti-Slavery 
Society ; prefented by his coadjutors in the facred 
caufe of negro emancipation, as a teftimonial of 
their efteem for his long, unremitting, gratuitous, 
and unobtrufive fervices, by which, more than by 
the individual efforts of any other fellow citizen, 
they believe the glorious triumph of negro free- 
dom in the Britifh colonies to have been accele- 
rated. 5 His zeal and devotion to the temperance 
caufe from the very firft day on which the move- 
ment was commenced in Worcefter, in 1829, are 
well known ; and the committee of the Worcefter 
Temperance Society, at a meeting laft Tuefday 
evening, paffed a refolution recording their deep 
fenfe of the lofs they had fuftained by his death. 
And now the old man refts ; but it gladdened his 
feebly-beating heart to know, before its pulfations 
flopped, for ever, that peace had been again 
reftored to his country. Such men, even when 
their light fhines not from high places, have not 
lived in vain, feeing that an example has been left 
by them which cannot altogether fall to the 
ground. It were ill for England if fuch ex- 
amples of ufeful though humble Chriftians were 
fruitlefs ; and it is ill for any country in which 
fuch a fad privation of tendency to good, as that 
would be, could occur. The funeral of Mr. 
Darke took place on Thurfday, at the Friends' 
burying-ground attached to the chapel in San- 
fome Walk. The deceafed's children, grand- 
children, and great-grandchildren were prefent, 
and the committee of the Temperance Society 
alfo attended as a mark of refpecl:. Mr. Burgefs 
and Mifs Weft combe made a few comments on 
the deceafed's life and character, and his remains 



Society of Friends , 293 

were committed to the ground in the quiet and 
iimple manner ufually obferved by the Friends." 

It is pretty well known that the Quakers, as a 
body, are gradually diminifhing in this part of the 
world. Into the caufes of this diminution it is 
not my intention to enter, but fimply to notice 
the fa£t. The kct feems to have flourifhed beft 
under the antagoniftic influences of perfecution ; 
but when milder counfels prevailed, the ftimulus 
to their bold and independent avowal of principle 
was withdrawn. In their minute books, about 
the middle of the laft century, I find that fome 
caufe was in operation for the reduction of their 
numbers, and at a time, too, when means feem to 
have been adopted for profelytifing, which is not 
the cafe at prefent. Frequent complaints were 
then made of the thin attendances at meetings ; 
and in the 10th month, 1776, an epiftle was 
iffued to the tVorcefterJhire friends, from Edmund 
Gurney, Jer. Waring, Thos. TVagftajfe, Geo, Gib- 
fon, Tim. Bevington, and John Burgefs, who had 
been on " a gofpel vifit" to the various meetings 
in the county, ftimulating them to increafed 
vigilance and attention to the light within them. 
Emigration and a lack of profelytifing energy 
feem to have been the chief caufes of the 
diminifhed ranks of the Quakers, rather than 
feceflions of members. Only one inftance of 



294 Worcefter Sefts. 

the latter has come before my obfervation, and 
that occurs in the parifh books of St . Peter's, 
where is the following entry: 

" Rebecka Nicholas, aged twenty-three, born 
and bred a Quaker, was baptifed Sep. 3, 1759." 

In the flourifhing days of this fociety there 
were chapels and congregations at Kidder minfter, 
Redditch, Eve/ham, Perjhore, Droitwich, Malvern, 
Bromfgrove, Stourbridge, Bewdley, Dudley, Ship- 
fton, &c. Moft of thefe are now fhut up and 
fold ; and where ftill in exiftence, as at Dudley , 
Stourbridge, Bewdley, Eve/ham, and Malvern, 
they are but feldom ufed, or only by very dimi- 
nifhed numbers. Shropjhire is now combined 
with this county for the purpofe of the Quakers' 
quarterly meetings, but this feems to have been 
no great acquifition, in point of numbers at leaft, 
as there are no members left at Shrew/bury, and 
the only town in that county which furnifhes 
any members to this quarterly meeting is Coal- 
brookdale, with twenty-five members only ! At 
the fame time it muft be ftated that the Stour- 
bridge and Dudley meetings are now affigned to 
Warwick/hire North, and Ship ft on to JVarwick- 
Jhire South. A venerable member of the fociety 
in Worcefter informs me that, within her recol- 
lection (about feventy years ago), they numbered 
about two hundred members in this city, and had 



Society of Friends. 295 

two good fchools ; the prefent number is not 
much above eighty. Some of this decreafe fhe 
attributes to the fact that, when the glove trade 
was flourifhing here, many of the matters and 
their men were Quakers, who, when the adop- 
tion of Air. Hufkijforfs policy removed the greateft 
portion of the trade from Worcefter, were com- 
pelled to remove alfo and feek other fields for 
their enterprife. 

Some modification of the Quakers' difcipline 
has recently been introduced, whereby any plain, 
unadorned ftyle of drefs, without peculiarity or 
precifion of cut, is permitted, and I believe that 
perfons may now be married who are not mem- 
bers but only attendants at their meetings. 
Pictures and elegant though not fhowy furniture 
may alfo now be feen in their dwellings, and on 
the whole it is evident that the fociety is at prefent 
in a tranfitional ftate. 

The fyftem of intermarriage among Quakers 
having been denounced in fome recent publica- 
tions, as the fruitful fource of difeafe, abridged 
life, &c, I think it right to ftate, in conclufion, 
that however true this may appear to be as an 
abftract propofition, the great age of many of the 
JVorcefter Quake/s, both living and dead, and 
the general ftatiftics of the body at large, give 
evidence loudly in favour of their temperance, 
cleanlinefs, moderate habits, difcipline, and mental 



296 Wore eft er Seels. 

quietude. Of 300 deaths throughout the king- 
dom, in 1856-7, the average age was fifty-three 
years, two months, and a fraction ; of 322 deaths 
in 1857-8, the average was fifty-one years and 
three months; of 307, in 1858-9, fifty years 
and one month ; while the average duration of a 
generation of the public at large is fuppofed to be 
about thirty years. 



Wesleyans. 



" Men my brothers, men the workers, ever reaping fomething new ; 
That which they have done but earner! of the things that they mall do : 
Yet I doubt not through the ages one increafing purpofe runs, 
And the thoughts of men are widen'd with the procefs of the funs." 

Tennyson. 




'ETHODISM has been called the 
great Englifh fchifm of the eight- 
eenth century. Oxford was its 
cradle, John Wesley its parent, and 
the Countefs of Huntingdon its 
nurfing mother. With the two Wesleys was 
aflbciated the great Whitefield^ the fon of a 
Gloucefter innkeeper, and who afterwards became 
chaplain to the Countefs. Thefe were the chiefs 
of the Methodift movement, under whofe 
leaderlhip three grand detachments of Chriftian 
warriors were led forth to do battle with the 
world, the flefh, and the devil. The feparation 
of the forces was occafioned by the doctrine of 
election > the followers of John and Charles 
Wesley adopting Arminian views of univerfal re- 



298 TV ore eft er Seels. 

demption, and thofe of TVhitefield, Calvinifm ; 
while the Countefs, at the fame time that fhe 
leaned towards the religious principles of her 
chaplain, chofe to act herfelf as the founder of a 
feet. 

Dr. Burton has faid that " the church of Chrift 
has no deadlier enemies than thofe who feek to 
divide it into parties, and who are always looking 
out for points of difference rather than thofe of 
agreement." This may be true in cafes where 
the points of difference are of no higher import- 
ance than mere matters of candlefticks, flowers, 
and furplices ; but the remark furely lofes its 
force and fignificance when aimed at that great 
religious movement which in the middle of the 
laft century aroufed both the Eftablifhed Church 
and all ranks of diffenters from the lethargy into 
which they had fallen, and may be likened to the 
ftirring of the waters in Bethefdas pool by the 
Angel who brought healing in his wings. The 
ftate of the Church Eftablifhment at that period is 
well known and admitted by her own members : 
both clergy and laity had forgotten their relative 
pofitions, and were mixed up together in the 
chafe, the bull-bait, and the beer-houfe; and 
when fuch an article as a fermon was procurable 
in a village church, the fundamental doctrines of 
faith in Chrift and the neceffity of a holy life were 
but feldom heard. Neverthelefs, when a " Gofpel 



Wesley ans. 299 

preacher," like fome comet, bringing life and 
health from another fyftem, appeared in the 
neighbourhood, not unfrequently did the parochial 
minifter affemble his rural forces, and eject the 
intruder by pitchfork and cudgel ; while thofe 
who made no hoftile demonftration againft the 
movement were content to leave it to its own 
energies, or meet it with withering contempt. 
We can well imagine a churchman of that time 
writing his own epitaph thus : 

" This be my record : fober, not auftere, 
A churchman honeft to his church lies here ; 
Content to tread where wifer feet had trod, 
He loved eftablifhed modes of ferving God, 
Preached from a pulpit rather than a tub, 
And gave no guinea to a Bible club." 

Nor was this fpiritual deadnefs peculiar to the 
church : the fame opiate had affected every re- 
ligious community, and thofe who were not lulled 
into an ignoble repofe had better have flept than 
been employed as they were — though fomewhat 
drowfily it is true — in fcattering the feeds of 
Socinian and Antinominian error.* 

All honour then be to thofe young and ardent 
minds who affociated together in our principal 
feats of learning, refolved on braving the ridicule 
of their fellows and the perfecution of a femi- 
barbarous world, in order to reawaken the echoes 

* See Life of Rowland Hill, 



300 



Worcefter Sects. 



of gofpel truth in the dark corners of the land, 
and to carry out their profeflion— -undertaken at 
baptifm — of Chriftian foldiers fighting againft the 
enemies of the crofs. Nor muft we fail to bear 
in mind that it was no part of the fcheme of 
thefe great and good men to found a new church 
or to fecede from the old one \ their afpirations 
were to continue within her communion, while 
they pleaded for greater ftrictnefs of life and 
more zeal in the miniftry. This was the head 
and front of their offending, for which they were 
driven forth from the pale of the Eftablifhment ; 
and having, as fportfmen fay, " taken to the 
open/' they did the work of their Matter in 
fields and highways, in barns, and all other avail- 
able places, and gathered together the halt, the 
lame, and the blind, for whofe fouls no man had 
cared. Lay preaching was their great agency, 
and this was the "irregularity" of which the 
Church complained — under the convidtion that 
it was preferable for their fellow creatures to die 
in fatal ignorance than to have their converfion 
effected in an irregular manner. 

The year 1729 is confidered as the time at 
which Methodifm began, when the Wesley s and a 
.few other ftudents at Oxford (afterwards joined 
by TVhitefield) formed a little affociation for their 
common fpiritual improvement, as was fubfe- 
quently done alfo by Dr. Stillingfleet (afterwards 



Wesley ans. 301 

Prebendary of Wore eft er), and at Cambridge by 
Row/and Hill and a lmall body of ftudents who 
would expound, pray, and invite others to do 
likewife, but were expelled from their college by 
the Vice-Chancellor. It was not till the year 
1740, however, that the firft Methodift fociety 
was formed (in Moorfields, London), more than 
twenty years before a fociety was eftablifhed at 
Worcefter. The instruments for the propagation 
of this new difcipline were generally perfons from 
the lower claffes of fociety; but the Huntingdon 
family took it under their patronage, and there 
were two or three other ladies of rank who 
attached themfelves to the Countefs, and encou- 
raged the labours of the Methodift preachers, 
giving them accefs to many in the ranks of the 
ariftocracy, and thereby greatly increafing their 
influence. The late Mr. Wilberforce and Mrs. 
Hannah More, too, contributed much to the 
advancement of Methodifm in this country. 
But it was to the character and abilities of Wesley 
and JVhitefield, in the firft inftance, that its 
extraordinary progrefs was mainly due. White- 
field, as a popular preacher, has probably never 
been furpaffed — at leaft if we may judge from 
the effects of his appeals to his audiences. 
Who can forget the defcription of his open-air 
affemblies at Kingswood, and the electric fenfa- 
tions occafioned among the poor colliers by him 



302 Worcefter Sefts. 

" Whofe refiftlefs eloquence 
Wielded at will that fierce democratic ? " 

Here is his own fketch of one of thofe gather- 
ings : 

"The trees and hedges were full. All was 
hufh when I began ; the fun fhone bright, and 
God enabled me to preach for an hour with great 
power, and fo loud that all, as I was told, could 

hear me. Blefled be God, Mr. fpoke right : 

c the fire is kindled in the country !' To behold 
fuch crowds ftanding together in fuch an awful 
filence, and to hear the echo of their finging run 
from one end of them to the other, was very 
folemn and ftriking. As the fcene was new, and 
I had juft begun to be an extempore preacher, it 
occafioned many inward confli&s. When twenty 
thoufand people were before me, I had not, in 
my own apprehenfion, a word to fay either to 
God or them. But I never was totally deferted ; 
and my confidence was increafed when I faw 
the white gutters made by the tears which plen- 
tifully fell down their black cheeks — black as 
they came out of their coal pits. The open 
firmament above me, the profpeits of the adjacent 
fields, with the fight of thousands and thoufands, 
fome in coaches, fome on horfeback, and fome in 
the trees, and at times all affected and drenched 
in tears together - y to which fometimes was added 
the folemnity of the approaching evening; was 
almoft too much for, and quite overcame me." 

Whitefield, it will thus be feen, held unbounded 
fway over the elements of popularity. Wesley, 



Wesley am. 303 

while lefs commanding, was more infinuating, 
and poflefTed, both in writing and preaching, a 
perfpicuous and pleafing fimplicity. Whitefield 
had comparatively little reading, while Wesley 
was both a gentleman and' a fcholar. He had, 
moreover, a ftrong and capacious mind for 
government. His fermons feldom exceeded half 
an hour in length, and his diflike for rant and 
fanaticifm was ftiown on all occafions. " Scream 
no more (fays he in a letter to one of the preach- 
ers in connexion with him), fcream no more at 
the peril of your foul. Speak earneftly as you 
can, but do not fcream. Speak with all your 
heart, but with a moderate voice." He is known 
to have feverely reproved two of his preachers, 
Bell and Owen^ for what was once called, by 
Grattan, cc the noify familiarity of the fe£taries 
with their God" for their irreverent expreffions 
in prayer, their accounting the work of the ima- 
gination to be the work of the Spirit, their 
fuppofing the preachers of all other denomina- 
tions were doomed to be loft, and their under- 
valuing reafon and knowledge generally ; and at 
length he difmifled Bell altogether for his fcream- 
ing and fanaticifm. With all this fenfe of 
decorum and public decency, Wesley propounded 
as one of his leading principles the reality of per- 
ceptible and inftantaneous converfion ; and the 
general reader, on perufing his diary, cannot but 



3°4 



I Fore eft er Seels. 



be ftruck with the bufinefs-like manner in which 
ftatiftical information is fupplied to him with 
regard to thefe new births, which are calculated, 
numbered, and labelled, like (o many tons of 
goods or bales of cotton in a railway warehoufe. 
Here are fpecimens : " Laft week eleven were 
juftihed, and this week eleven more, eight of 
whom received remiffion of fins, and three a 
clear heart, and a troop are waiting for the mov- 
ing of the waters." In Limerick , u fourteen 
have a clear fenfe of being renewed, and feveral 
have been juftihed this week." Samuel Meggott 
writes to him from Barnard CaJ r t/e— - iQ W ithin ten 
weeks at leaft twenty perfons in this town have 
found peace with God^ and twenty-eight the 
pure love of God. This morning, before vou 
left us, one found peace, and one the fecond 
bleffing ; and after you was gone two more 
received it." 

The great excitement attending the new ftvle 
of preaching produced its uiual effects : when a 
clafs affembled, one or more of its members 
would fall into agonies, while the remainder 
were M wreftling with God " for them. One of 
the afflicted would, bv and bv, fpring on his feet 
and fhout aloud " Alv fins are forgiven." At 
Limerick^ on one occafion, the whole congre- 
gation u were in floods of tears ; they trembled, 
they cried, they prayed, they roared aloud, all or 



Wesleyans. 305 

them lying on the ground ; they began to fing, 
but could not rife, and fang as they lay along ; 
and when we concluded, fome of them could not 
go away, but ftayed in the houfe all night." 
Wesley^ probably, did not go the length of fup- 
pofing that thefe frenzied fits fhould be called by 
the name of religion, or that the fright and 
painful tenfion in which the human mind was 
kept by them, during the contagion of a crowded 
room by night, could be expe£ted ultimately to 
advance the kingdom of Him whofe Spirit work- 
eth in the quiet breathing of love and peace. 
Such worfhipping by great outcries and bodily 
manifeftations is more to be likened to the re- 
ligion of thofe heathens who adored their god 
Hercules with fhowers of ftones and brickbats, 
under the notion that it would be the moft 
acceptable form of homage to one who all his life 
long had been accuftomed to brave phyfical 
difficulties. The worfliippers of Baal cut them- 
felves with ftones, and the Catholic devotee 
volunteered a vaft amount of corporal fuffering, 
but we nowhere learn that tortures fuch as thefe 
are acceptable in the fight of that God who 
has faid by His prophet Joel^ " Rend your hearts, 
and not your garments." The founder of Me- 
thodifm, it feems, had but little fympathy for 
extravagance, and attacked with equal goodwill 
Weljh Jumpers, Englijh formalists, and Popery in 



Hi 



r 



/ 



3° 6 



Worcefter Seffs. 



its Irijh ftrongholds, yet there is reafon to believe 
that he often miftook for divine influence what 
was nothing but the overflow of a heated enthu- 
fiafm -, and it is extraordinary that fo acute a man 
fhould have tolerated to any extent thofe bodily 
contortions which were a melancholy caricature 
of the genuine effe&s of converfion. Wesley was 
a plain writer, but then he wrote not for fame: 
the aim of his life was to do the work of his 
Mafter, and to the performance of that work he 
devoted fifty years, during which period it is 
eftimated that he travelled 225,000 miles — a 
diftance more than equal to nine times round the 
globe! He was a vifitor of prifons, hofpitals, 
and houfes of mourning ; and it has been truly 
faid that " wherever there was a friend to ferve 
or a foul to fave, he readily repaired. He thought 
no office too humiliating, no condefcenfion too 
low, no undertaking too arduous, to reclaim the 
meaneft of God's offspring." Wesley was pecu- 
liarly a genial man — not morofe or gloomy, nor 
like thofe Puritans of whom it was faid that they 
would not put on a corn-plafter without fcraping 
a text over it \ he was not one of thofe fpiritual 
hypochondriacs who deprefs their natural fpirits 
with a rigour which fhuts out the light of day 
from the chamber of their hearts, and keeps it in 
conftant gloom and fhadow, as if a fmile or the 
enjoyment of a cheerful funbeam would imperil 






Wesleyans. 307 

their falvation. In company he was among the 
moft agreeable ; he was forgiving, unfufpicious, 
and liberal to a fault, with a temper warm, but 
judgment excellent. In him old age appeared 
delightful, like an evening without a cloud. The 
great object of his life was to revive the doc- 
trines and extinguifhed fpirit of the Church of 
England : he was treated as a fanatic when he 
mould have been deemed the beft friend of the 
Church ; but he lived to fee himfelf refpe£ted if 
not beloved by all. 

Wesley was fimplicity itfelf, but yet not devoid 
of humour, an inftance of which occurs in his 
account of a vifit to Doncafter^ where he men- 
tions an afs walking gravely in at the gate and up 
to the door of the houfe, where it lifted up its 
head and ftood ftock ftill in a pofture of deep 
attention. " Might not the dumb beaft (fays 
Mr. Wesley) reprove many who have far lefs 
decency and not much more understanding ?" 
And yet a ftrange compound of contradictions 
was this fame man; for with all his fcholarfhip 
and good fenfe he pra£tifed fortilege — that is, to 
refer promifcuoufly to the firft Bible text you 
open upon, for advice whether to undertake or 
abandon any important ftep in life — a religious 
kind of fortune-telling, reminding one of the 
Sortes Vlrgiliancs of Charles /, and the fuper- 
ftition which impelled Buonaparte to confult 



3 o8 



Wore eft er Seels. 



oracular problems. He doubted, too, whether 
any one could tell the real diftance of the fun, 
moon, or planets, at the fame time that he 
believed in demonology and poffeflion by foul 
fpirits. Once, he declares, u a vehement noife 
arofe and fhot like lightning" through a congre- 
gation at Briftol^ amidft terror and confufion 
indefcribable : benches were broken, and much 
other damage done, and he afcribes this to pre- 
ternatural influences. Notwithftanding this trait 
of his charafter, he is known to have preached 
at Spitalfields, when fo great a commotion was 
excited by the confident expectation that the end 
of the world was to be on the 28th of February, 
1763, when thoufands wandered into the fields 
in a ftate of diftraction, expecting to be fwallowed 
up by an earthquake. His fermon was intended 
to fliow the abfurdity of a fuppofed human fore- 
knowledge of fuch an event 3 and he himfelf went 
home to bed, and was faft afleep by ten o'clock, 
while the ftreets and fields were fwarming with 
an excited multitude. 

In his annual tour throughout the United 
Kingdom, he preached in churches wherever he 
could obtain permiffion — as at St. Andrew's, 
Wore eft er — but otherwife in barns, old buildings, 
or in the open air. He was a great admirer of 
cathedral fervices, which he attended whenever 
an opportunity prefented itfelf ; and once he took 






Wesleyans. 309 

the facrament with Bifhop Lavington^ his old 
opponent. Nor was he fo abforbed in his own 
vocation as to be perverfely difregardful of the 
natural beauties of God's creation or the works of 
human art which his incefTant travelling brought 
before his view : here and there he peeped into 
beautiful gardens, fuch as Mr. Shenftone's Lea- 
fowes, at Halefowen^ or Hagley Park, or afcended 
the Malvern hills, and old caftles and other 
u lions" did not efcape him on his way. It is 
interefting to notice another inftance of his genial 
mind, that when once at Worcefter he attended 
an affize trial, and in his diary reports with great 
fatisfa£tion the humane efforts of the Judge and 
counfel to reftore a poor, half-ftarved, pocket- 
picking boy to a better courfe of life, inftead of 
glutting themfelves with his punifhment, as was 
too much the fpirit of the laft century. 

Evefham appears to have been the firft place 
he vifited in this county, and there he preached 
in the Abbey Church as he calls it. The magis- 
trates in that town feem to have been worthy 
defcendants of thofe who had fo maltreated the 
Quakers (fee page 208), for they frequently 
encouraged the mob againft Wesley , yet he 
appears not only to have efcaped injury but to 
have won the hearts of the common people there 
as elfewhere. 

The firft recorded vifit of John Wesley to 






310 Wore eft er Seels. 

Worcefter was in the autumn of 1760, when on 
his way from Ireland to the fouth-weft of 
England. At Wolverhampton he hired frefh 
horfes for Worcefter^ and on the road one of the 
horfes fell, and gave him fuch a fhock that he 
was feized with a violent bleeding of the nofe 
which nothing would ftop, " fo (fays he) we 
were obliged to go a foot-pace two miles and 
then flay at Broadwaters^ Auguft 28th; foon 
after we fet out the other horfe fell lame ; an 
honeft man at Worcefter found this was owing to 
a bad flioe ; a fmith cured this, but at the fame 
time, by paring the hoof too clofe, he effectually 
lamed the other foot, fo that we had hard work 
to reach Gloucefterjhire" From thence he went 
on to Briftol and Cornwall. In the following 
year he does not mention Worcefter^ but went 
from Oxford, via Eve/ham and Redditch, to Bir- 
mingham and Dudley. At Evejham he there found 
" a poor fhattered fociety, almoft funk to nothing, 
and no wonder, fince they have been almoft 
without help till Mr. Mather came." He then 
preached in the Town Hall to large congrega- 
tions, " many of whom came determined neither 
to hear themfelves nor allow others to hear, but 
they were overruled, and behaved with tolerable 
decency, till the fervice was over, when they 
roared amain '" he, however, walked the ftreet 
among them and they offered not the leaft rude- 



Wesley am. 311 

nefs. At Dudley there was a large and quiet 
congregation. w The fcene here (he fays) is 
changed fince the dirt and ftones of this town 
were flying about me on every fide." 

No further account of his vifits to Wore eft er 
occurs till four years afterwards, namely, in 
MarGh, 1765, when he rode from Stroud to this 
city, " and had the pleafure (fays he) of fpending 

an hour with Mr. R , a fenfible, candid man ; 

but who is proof againft prejudice ? efpecially 
when thofe who labour to infufe it coriverfe with 
him daily, and thofe who ftrive to remove it not 
two hours in a year." 

On the 16th of March, 1768, occurs this entry 
in Mr. Wesley's diary : 

" In the afternoon I preached at Upton y and 
then rode on to Wore eft er^ but the difficulty was 
where to preach. No room was large enough to 
contain the people, and it was too cold for them 
to ftand abroad. At length we went to a friend's, 
near the town, whofe barn was larger than many 
churches ; here a numerous congregation foon 
afTembkd, and again at five, and at ten in the 
morning. Nothing is wanting here but a com- 
modious houfe ; and will not God provide this 
alfo ? " 

The barn above-mentioned is fuppofed to have 
been the old Workhoufe in the London Road, on 
the fite of which now ftands the refidence of Mr. 

George Chamberlain. 



312 Wore eft er Seels. 

A good fpecimen of Wesley's labours, and his 
devotion to the caufe on which he had fet his 
heart, is contained in the following entry : 

"March 14, 1769. We rode towards Tewkef- 
bury, notice having been given of my preaching 
about noon at a houfe a mile from the town, but 
we could not get to it, the floods were fo nigh ; 
fo I intended to go flraight to Worcefter, but one 
informing me a congregation from all parts was 
waiting, we fet out another way, and waded 
through the water \ the congregation, too, feemed 
quite earneft, fo that I did not regard my labour, 
but the going and coming was hard work, fo that 
I was a little tired before we came to IVorcefter. 
I began preaching about fix in the Riding Houfe. 
Abundance of people were deeply attentive, but 
toward the clofe a large number of boys made a 
great noife. When we came out, men and boys 
joined together in fhouting and pufhing to and 
fro ; many were frightened, but none hurt. 
Hitherto could Satan come, but no farther ! " 

The Riding Houfe is an old building ftill {land- 
ing clofe to the bowling-green in Frog Lane (now 
dignified by the unneceflary name of Diglis 
Street). It was ufed for teaching foldiers riding, 
and for adminiflering to them the difcipline of 
flogging. The building has an open timber roof, 
but prefents no point worthy of remark, except 
that it would probably contain fome 300 or 400 
people {landing. It was fubfequently ufed for a 



Wesley am. 313 

parifh lchool until the prefent fchool was built. 
Lectures were alfo delivered there (among others) 
by Mr. Belij one of the founders of the Bell and 
Lancaster fyftem of education, as may be remem- 
bered by many ftill living. The old houfe, which 
is ftill the property of the Government, is now 
rented by AlefTrs. Kerr and Binns for ftoring up 
their moulds, ufed in the porcelain manufacture. 
In a humble cottage in the ftreet now oppofite 
the Riding Houfe ftill lives a widow, named Jane 
Crumps aged ninety-three, who was born in that 
ftreet and has lived there all her life, who well 
recollects having fat under John Wesley on feveral 
occafions during his vifits to TForcefter. That 
however was not at the Riding Houfe, but at the 
chapel fubfequently ere£ted in New Street. I 
have had the privilege of an interview with this 
matriarch, who ftill retains her faculties, and re- 
members the laft text fhe heard him preach, 
namely, " Remember thy Creator in the days of 
thy youth." She continues to entertain a high 
opinion of Wesley as being a great friend to the 
poor, and more than that (as the old lady faid to 
me with confiderable emphafis), "he preached 
the Gofpel too, fir." The people ufed to rife as 
early as five in the morning to hear him preach, 
and, fo far from intuiting him,%vould go out fome 
diftance from the city to meet him when they 
knew of his coming to Worcefter^ and efcort him 



3H 



Wore eft er Seels. 



into the town, as he rode on horfeback or in a 
chaife. Mrs. Crump has alfo heard Whitefield 
preach in Worcefter^ but the poor old lady was 
more intent on impreffing upon me the fact of 
her having been a witnefs, from her bedroom 
window, of the cruel floggings which were in- 
flicted on the foldiery in the yard of the Riding 
Houfe, and the frequent attempts made by the 
citizens to break in and refcue the fufferers, 
which attempts were alfo rigoroufly repulfed by a 
guard of foldiers, fword in hand, Mrs. Crump 
is a link connecting three or four generations ; 
and it is fomething which I fhall not fail to re- 
member with pleafure that I have converfed with 
one who frequently heard Wesley preach. 

Another venerable inhabitant of Worcefter has 
but recently departed from us, who was perfonally 
known to the great reformer, John Wesley having 
vifited at her father's houfe -> and his laft letter, 
I believe, was found among her papers when fhe 
died, in the year 1856, at the age of eighty-fix. 
Of her it has been faid that "her life was 
unceafingly devoted to good objects, in the 
promotion of which fhe was frequently fubjected 
to ridicule and abufe, but nothing diverted her 
from her benevolent and Chriftian career. The 
eftablifhment of the Worcefter City Million was 
mainly owing to her efforts, the committee 
holding their meetings at her houfe. She was 



Wesley ans. 315 

held in great refpect by all denominations of 
Chriftians, efpecially the Wefleyans, in whofe 
communion fhe had remained for feventy years, 
and who, two years before her death, placed her 
portrait in the veftry of their chapel in Pump 
Street." The following lines, written to her 
memory, though not characterifed by elegance of 
diction or purity of ftyle, may be permitted here 
as a rough doggrel defcription of this aged 
Chriftian (Sufan Knapp) : 



Through earth's wildernefs vaft, 
And death's "Jordan at laft, 

Sifter Knapp hath got fafely home : 
By bright feraphs convey'd, 
And in white robes array'd, 

To the heavenly Canaan hath com^ 

She hath gone to her reft, 

And her fpirit is bleft 
For ever with Jefus her Lord j 

Now, with rapturous gaze, 

She beholds His loved face, 
Which on earth fhe fo much ador'd, 

She is gone '.—but the tear 

To her memory dear 
Still lingers in many an eye 5 

While the tick and the poor 

And the aged no more 
See this " Sifter of Mercy " pafs by, 

Her houfe and her heart 

Were alike fet apart 
To welcome the friends of the Lord; 

And the time-honour'd fpot 

Shall not foon be forgot 
Which fuch peace and reft did afford, 



316 



JVorcefter Setts. 









The lov'd Bible her guide, 

A few tracts by her fide, 
And counfels and cautions her ftore : 

See her wending her way 

Through the city each day, 
To do what fhe could for the poor. 

She was known in the ftreet 

By her drefs, plain and neat, 
And her countenance wearing a fmile 

When the young fhe addreiVd, 

Or the aged hand prefs'dj 
For in her pure heart was no guile. 

With what earneft defire 

She would oft-times inquire 
What more for Gods caufe could be done ! 

And it was her delight 

Loft iinners to invite 
To God's houfe, that their fouls might be won. 

Weep not! — thou dear friend 

Who her fteps did attend, 
And lay, who will ftand in her ftead ? 

For thy lofs is her gain; 

Therefore mourn not in vain, 
Be thyfelf " baptifed for the dead." 

T. L. 



But to return from this epifode. By the year 
1770 the Wefleyan caufe in JVorcefter feems to 
have progrefTed confiderably. That appears to 
have been the firfl: year in which this circuit was 
regularly organifed, and in the conference minutes 
James Glafbrook and Martin Rodda were the firfl: 
preachers named to travel the circuit. The 
oldeft book in the poffeffion of the JVorcefter Wet 
leyans is entitled The Quarterly Book for Gloucef- 
terfbire Circuit, 1 771, the circuit then including 



Wesley am. 317 

the towns and places of Stroud, Painfwick, Wor- 
cefter, Broad Marfton, Honeybourne, Admin gt on, 
Ox ill, Bengezvorth, Kemerton, Tewkefbury, Stanley, 
Cheltenham, Gloucefter, Beejley, Brim/combe, and 
Bewdley. Various towns in Wore eft erjhire were 
fubfequently added, and in 1787 the circuit was 
divided, the Gloucefterfhire portion branching off, 
and Worcefter then became the head of its own 
circuit. The firft ftewards of the circuit, for 
1 771, were Charles Freebery and James Nind. 
It is curious to note the financial condition of 
Weflevanism in thofe days as compared with the 
prefent ; for inftance, at Worcefter, the firft 
quarterly collection for the fupport of the miniftry 
amounted to but 2/., at Tewkefbury il. is., at 
Gloucefter $s., Cheltenham $s. 6d., and other places 
in the circuit in proportion ; whereas now there 
are two minifters fupported at Worcefter, one at 
Tewkefbury, two at Gloucefter^ and three at Chel- 
tenham, all thofe places (as likewife Stroud) being 
now heads of circuits. The earlieft recorded 
plan of the Worcefter (or Gloucefterfhire) circuit 
was as follows : 

" The brother that goes on the circuit from 
JVorcefter fets off immediately after breakfaft on 
Friday morning, dines at Mrs. Cannings, fchool- 
miftrefs, at Bengeworth ; Saturday morning, after 
breakfaft, to Broad Mar ft on, Mr. Henry Eden's ; 
Sunday forenoon, preach at Broad Marfton, and 



3i8 



JVorcefter Seels. 



in the evening at Wefton^ Mr, Adklns ; Mon- 
day, dine at Airs. Guy's^ Hampton^ near Benge- 
worthy and after come to Perjbore to preach, at 
Mr. Jones's, barge owner; Tuefday morning, 
return to Worcefter ; Wednefday, go to Stourport, 
Mr. CowelFs ; Thurfday, to Bewdley, Mr. James 
Lewis, near the church, fhoemaker ; Friday, to 
Kidderminfter, Mr. James Bell, fhopkeeper, Mill 
Street \ Saturday evening, preach here alfo, and 
Sunday morning, which falls to their turn in 
this manner once in the month, becaufe the next 
preacher that comes to this part of the circuit 
goes back from Kidder?ni?ifter to Bewdley on the 
Saturday morning, in order to preach there the 
oppofite Sunday morning once in the month. 
From each of thefe places, Bewdley and Kidder- 
minfter, the preacher returns after Sunday morn- 
ing preaching to dine at Stourport, and preach at 
half-paft two and fix in the evening. Monday, 
after breakfaft, you go to the Clee Hills, through 
Cleobury — a new place (fociety this year begun, 
1 791). Tuefday of late has fallen vacant, 
through giving up a place in that countrv. I 
hope the Lord will open a door for you fome- 
where to till up this day. Wednefday, dine at 
Stourport, preach at night, Thurfday morning, 
return to JVorcefter, having now completed your 
fortnight's round. The next preacher then takes 
the above circuit. You ftay in JVorcefter a whole 
fortnight." 

In 1797, the following was the plan of the 
circuit : 



Weskyans. 319 

M The preacher who goes to the country cir- 
cuit lets off from JVorcefttr on Saturday morning 
to Omberjley, where is a new fociety of eighteen 
members formed this year. On Sunday, preach 
a: D •'■::":. ich at nine o'clock in the morning, 
return to Mr. Graves's at Omberjley to dine, and 
preach again at Drmturich in the evening. N.B. 
Z) •;;';;, ;;-; is a new place opened this year, and in 
which we have a very good proipect. Here call 
if Mifi Rm teffs. From hence proceed on 
Monday to Brom ■': roi : \ '~r:hn B:tfs, needle maker. 
In this place is a ibciety of nineteen members, 
fteady, but not very lively. Tuefday : Mr. Sa 
Randle's, Netherwood. The proipect in this place 
is no: very 2:ood, as the congregations are very 
imall -, yet there is a ibciety of eight members, 
not very lively. Wednefflay ^ : .. :r\ a day of 
reft. Thursday: Bengemortb^ Mrs. Canning's, 
fchoolmiftrefs. Here is the oldeft ibciety in this 
part of the kingdom — once a large and flouriih- 
ing one, but now reduced to fourteen members, 
and thefe not much in earneft. Friday : dine at 
Eden's^ Honeyburn^ and then pro- 
ceed to Mr. William Eden's at Broad Alar ton. 
Preach at night at Pdworth. Here we have nc 
ibciety, as the few ferious people who attend here 
belong to Broad Marfton fociety. Saturday: 
Weftzn, Mr. Caleb Jdktns. Here is a lively 
fociety :•: twenty-four members. Mr. Adkins is 
one of the circuit ftewards. Sunday : in the 
morning in fome of the little villages in the neigh- 
bourhood of W& ;;-;, and in the afternoon or 
evening, Broad Marfton as above. Monday : 
Bid/: \ Mr. RuffhlFs. Here is a new fociety ::" 
twenty-five members, in earneft, but ignorant and 



320 



Wore eft er Seels. 



weak. Tuefday : Great Allon, Mr. Hemming 9 s. 
We have preached here for fome months, but 
have not attempted to form a fociety. Wednes- 
day : Alcefter, Michael Flaherty, carpenter. We 
have not preached long in this place. Thurfday : 
Perjhore, at Owner Jones's houfe. There was 
once a fociety in this place, but it was difsolved 
before I came to the circuit. We gave up 
preaching there for fome months, but at the ear- 
neft entreaty of fome poor people returned to it 
again. Friday : return to Wore eft er for the 
fortnight." 

An itinerant preacher's life, in thofe days, was 
far from a pleafant one, in a worldly point of 
view, what with hard riding, bad roads, expofure 
to weather, highwaymen, and damp beds, fcanty 
fare and violent hoftility in moft places. A 
means of obviating one of thefe difagreeables — a 
damp bed — was provided for, at leaft in one of 
the towns in the circuit (namely, Stroud), by 
the inveftment of 155. %±d. on a warming-pan, at 
a very early period in Wefleyan hiftory, as I find 
recorded in one of the Worcefter books. 

But now let us return to John Wesley. On 
the 14th of March, 1770, he ftates : I preached 
in the new room, which is juft finifhed, at Upton, 
and then rode on to Worcefter, where I preached 
in a large, old, awkward place, to a crowded and 
much affected audience. Afterwards I met the 
fociety, of about a hundred members, all of one 
heart and one mind, fo lovingly and clofely united 



I Fes ley arts. 321 

together that I have fcarcely feen the like in the 
kingdom. On the 15th I met the felect fociety. 
How fwiftly has God deepened His work in thefe! 
I have {qqii very few, either in Briftol or London, 
who are more clear in their experience. The 
account that all whom I had time to examine gave 
was Scriptural and rational ; and fuppofe they 
fpeak truly, they are witneffes of the perfection 
which I preach \ yet that they may fall therefrom 
I know, but that they ntuft I utterly denv." 

The " large, old, awkward place " mentioned 
above was probably a room in the Butts, which 
was one of the obfcure and concealed fituations 
at that time coveted by diffenters, as defirable 
to avoid the attacks of rude mobs ; but at length, 
in the year 1772, a fmall chapel was erected on 
the eaft fide of New Street, near the end of the 
Garden Market (oppofite the narrow paiTage 
leading to the Shambles). This was opened 
by Mr. Wesley on the nth of March in that 
vear. His own account of that occurrence is as 
follows : 

"In the evening I preached in the new chapel 
at TVorcefter ; it was thoroughly filled. For a time 
the work of God was hindered here by a riotous 
mob, but the mayor cut them fhort, and ever fmce 
we have been in perfect peace." 

The mayor alluded to was probably Mr. 
William Davis. On the corporation records that 



322 



JVorcefter Setts. 




gentleman's name is attached to the year 1771, 
but the cuftom feems to have been to connect 
the names of the mayors with the year in which 
they were elected, confequently, if Mr. Davis 
was elected in 1 7 7 1 ? he would remain in office 
till the Auguft of 1772, the month of Auguft 
being the period when the old corporation elected 
their officers. 

On his next fpring vifit to JVorcefter, J^: : i 
Wesley inquired concerning " the intelligence 
lent Mr. Hill, from JVorcefter, of the fhocking 
behaviour of fome that profeiTed to be perfect. 
It was fuppofed that intelligence came from Mr. 
Skinner, — 2. dear lover of me and all connected 
with me. The truth is, one of the fociety, after 
having left it, behaved extremely ill, but none 
who profeiTed to love God with all their heart 
have done anything contrary to that profeffion." 

On March I", 1774, he finds the fociety in 
JVorcefter " walking in love, and not moved bv 
all the efforts of thofe who would fain teach 
them another Gofpel. I was much comforted 
by their fteadfaftnefs and fimplicity. Thus let 
them filence the ignorance of foolifh men." 

At that time JJ r esley gave JVorcefter the charac- 
ter of u continuing to be one of the livelieft 
places in England f which I think may ftill be 
aiTerted of it as regards public entertainments, 
mufic, and fight-feeing of all kinds. On the 



We s ley an s. 323 

14th of March, 1775, Mr. Wesley came from 
Tewkefbury to Worcefter, to preach in the evening. 

"Here alfo (he fays) the flame is gradually 
increafing. While I was here there was a very 
extraordinary trial at the aflizes : A boy being 
beaten by his mafter, and wandering about till he 
was half ftarved, was then allowed to lie in the 
hayloft of an inn. In the night he ftole into a 
room where two gentlemen lay (probably not 
very fober), and without awaking them picked 
the money out of both their pockets, though 
their breeches lay under their heads. In the 
morning, having confeffed the fact, he was com- 
mitted to gaol. He made no defence, fo one of 
the counfel rofe up and faid, c My Lord, as there 
is none to plead for this poor boy I will do it 
myfelf.' He did fo, and then added, c My Lord, 
it may be this bad boy may make a good man ; 
and I humbly conceive it may be beft to fend 
him back to his mafter. I will give him a guinea 
towards his expenfes.' c And I will give him 
another,' faid the Judge, which he did, with a 
mild and ferious reproof; fo he was fent back 
full of good refolutions." 

When Mr. Wesley next vifited Worcefter^ in 
March, 1776, for his annual circuits were then 
pretty regularly affigned, on the 21ft he fays — 

" I was much refrefhed among thefe loving 
people, efpecially by the felecl: fociety, the far 
greater part of whom could ftill witnefs that God 
had faved them from inward as well as outward 



324 Worcefter Seas. 

fin. On the 23rd I preached in the Town Hall, 
Evejha?n, to a congregation of a very different 
kind. Few of them, I doubt, came from any 
other motive than to gratify their curiofity ; how- 
ever, they were deeply attentive, fo that fome of 
them, I truft, went away a little wifer than they 
came." 

A few days after this he preached at Dudley, 
" in the midft of Antinomians and backfliders." 

Mr. Wesley, in the following year, fent his 
chaife from Tewkejbury to Worcefter, while he 
himfelf took horfe to Bengeworth, where the 
church was tolerably filled. On the 6th he rode 
to Worcefter, and on the 9th he fays — 

" I went through a delightful vale to Malvern 
hills, lying on the fide of a high mountain, and 
commanding one of the nneit profpects in the 
world™ the whole vale of Evejham. Hitherto 
the roads were remarkably good, but they grew 
worfe and worfe till we came to Monmouth ." 

His next entry is as follows : 

"March 17, 1779. Preached at Tewkejbury 
about noon, and at Worcefter in the evening. 
Upon inquiry I found there had been no morn- 
ing preaching fince the conference, fo the people 
were of courfe weak and faint. At noon I 
preached in Bewdley, in an open fpace at the 
head of the town, to a very numerous and quiet 

congregation. Here Mrs. C informed me 

c This day twelve month I found peace with 



We sley an s. 325 

God, and the fame day my fon, till then utterly 
thoughtlefs, was convinced of fin. Some time 
after he died, rejoicing in God and praifing Him 
with his lateft breath.' " 

At Wesley's next vifit to Bewdley, while preach- 
ing there, a man came beating a drum, but a 
gentleman of the town foon filenced him. In 
March, 1780, he " preached to a very ferious 
congregation at Worcefter ;" and in the following 
year he fays — 

" I preached at Worcefter and Bewdley, and on 
the 23rd at Bengeworth church, and had fome 
converfation with that humble man, Mr. B ." 

In April of the fame year he was going to Ire- 
land, but a ftorm prevented it, and thinking it 
was not the will of God he fhould go, he deter- 
mined to proceed to Wales by way of Worcefter 
and Shrewfbury : 

" On Saturday, the 21ft, I was at Worcefter, 
and found one of our preachers, Jofepb Cole, 
there, but unable to preach through his ague, fo 
that I could not have come more opportunely. 
On the 22nd I preached at feven in our own 
room. At three the fervice began at St. An- 
drew's* As no notice had been given of my 
preaching there, only as we walked along the 
ftreet, it was fuppofed the congregation would be 
fmall, but it was far otherwife : high and low, 
rich and poor, flocked together from all parts of 



326 



Wore eft er Seels. 



the city ; and truly God fpake in His word, (o 
that I believe moft of them were almoft perfuaded 
to be Chriftians. Were it only for this hour 
alone the pains of coming to Worcefter would 
have been well beftowed." 

On May 15th, of the fame year, he was again 
at Worcefter, after palling through miferable 
roads, and on the 16th preached to a large meet- 
ing at Kidder minfter. In that town he fometimes 
fpent an hour with " that good man, Mr. Faw- 
cett" In the following entry for the year 1782 
is another indication of John Wesley's bias for the 
fupernatural : 



u March 2o. From Tewkefbury to Worcefter. 
On the 22nd, about two in the morning, we had 
fuch a ftorm as I never remember. Before it 
began our chamber door clattered to and fro 
exceedingly — fo it founded to us, although in fa£t 
it did not move at all ! I then diftinctly heard 
the door open; and having a light, rofe and went 
to it, but it was faft fhut ; meanwhile the 
window was wide open ; I fhut it, and went to 
fleep again. So deep a fnow fell in the night 
that we were afraid the roads would be impaf- 
fable ; however we fet out in the afternoon and 
made fhift to get to Kidderminfter" 

In March, 1783, he was taken with a fever, 
and fent on a Mr. Collins to fupply his place at 
Worcefter, but on the 2lfthefays — 



JFesleyans. 327 

" I took chaiie and overtook him at JVorcefter, 
who had fupplied all my appointments, and with 
a remarkable bleffing to the people \ but being 
much exhaufted, I found reft was fweet. On the 
22nd, in the morning, I gave a fhort exhortation, 
and then went on to Birmingham" 

Mr. TVesley, in Auguft of the fame year, went 
from Ghucefter again to Warcefter^ u where many 
young people are juft fetting out in the wavs of 
Gcd. I joined fifteen of them, this afternoon, to 
the fociety, all of them, I believe, athirft for falva- 
tion." 

The incumbent of St. Andrnu's church, in this 
city (the Rev. TV, TVormingtcn) feems to have 
been highly favourable to the Weflevan move- 
ment, the founder of which frequently preached 
in that church \ he did lb twice in the year 1784, 
there being on the firft occafion a crowded con- 
gregation \ M the vicar read prayers, and after- 
wards told me I mould be welcome to the ufe of 
his church whenever I came to TVorcefter ;" and 
in the following Auguft, when he preached from 
St. Andrew' *s pulpit, he " was agreeably furprifed 
to find the congregation deeply attentive while he 
applied the ftory of Dives and Lazarus." Many 
of the diiTenters likewife received him gladly and 
without jealoufy, for I find that on the occafion 
of his vifit here in March, 1785, he "breakfafted 
at Mrs. Price's, z Quaker who keeps a boarding 



328 Wot I: Sis. 

fchool. I was much pleafed with her children, 
lo elegantly plain in their behaviour as well as 
apparel. I was led — I know not how — to 
fpeak to them largely, then to pray, and we were 
all much comforted. The fociety is in great 
peace, and (hiving together for the hope of the 
Gofpel. I have not feen greater earneftnels and 
fimplicity in any fociety fince we left London." 

On his annual fpring vifit to IVorcefter^ in 1786, 
he had tQ pum through the fnow to this citv, and 
then on to Bewdley, concerning which town he 
fays : 

u Prejudice is here now vanifhed awav. The 
life of Mr. Clark turned the tide, and much more 
his glorious death. I preached about noon, and 
at Worcefter in the evening, where we had an un- 
common bleffing while I was enforcing c Thou 
fhalt have no other Gods before me ! n 

In this vear John Wesley invited, among others, 
John Edmondfon of Keighley^ in the Weft Riding 
of Yorkjhire^ to be an itinerant preacher when at 
the age of only nineteen; he accepted the invita- 
tion and afterwards became paftor of the Wefleyans 
at Worcefter, and about the year 18 15 was made 
fecretary to the Foreign Aiiffions of the fociety'. 
He was the author of A Concife Syftem of Self- 
government in the Great Affairs of Life and 
Godlinefs. 

Wesley j it is evident from his diary, was partial 



We shy am. 329 

to Worcefter^ and entertained a moft affectionate 
regard for his fociety here. In the evening of 
the 22nd of March, 1787, he came on from 
Tewke/bury to what he calls " our lovely and 
loving people of Wore eft er — plain old genuine 
Methodifts ; from thence next day to Stourport^ 
a fmall, new-built village," where he fpeaks of 
Mr. Heathy "a middle-aged clergyman, and his 
wife and two daughters, whose tempers and 
manners, so winning foft, so amiably mild, will 
do him honour wherever they come." Next 
year Mr. Wesley complains of the chapel at Wor- 
cefter as being much too fmall for the increafing 
congregation. " The Methodifts here (says he) 
have by well-doing utterly put to filence the 
ignorance of foolim men, fo that they are now 
abundantly more in danger by honour than by 
dishonour." 

I find by the Wore eft er Wefleyans' books that 
Wesley muft have had fome ground for his com- 
plaint of want of room, as in that fame year 
(1788) the number of members alone in this 
city amounted to 209 (exactly the fame number 
as in i860!), befides large numbers of cafual 
attendants. As this is the earlieft lift of mem- 
bers given, and as many of their defcendants 
may yet be living who would feel an intereft in 
the perpetuation of their names, they are here 
appended. In the book, marks are fet againft 



330 



Wore eft er Seels. 



the names, indicating thofe who were " be- 
lievers," or " feekers," or " doubtful," married, 
or other wife : 



Mary Clark, Tybridge 
Miriam Baldwin, 

Mount 
Sar. Lee j Rofemare (? 

Lowefmoor) 
Han. Hyde , Trinity 
Mary Z)^,BroadStreet 
Eliz. Smithy ditto 
Rebec. Willmot, Friar's 

Alley 
Sof. Edwards , do. 
Sufan Lewis, Sidbury 
Han. Wharton, Church. 

St. 
Eliz. Tyler, Friar St. 
Ann Chillingworth, do. 
Efther Day, Broad St. 
Ann Dalby, Foregate 
Mary Bennet, Melchi- 
fedec (!) (? Meal- 
cheapen St.) 
Sufan Knapp, Rofemare 
Mary Day, Broad St. 
Mary Scott, Corn Mar- 
ket 
Charlotte George, Broad 

St. 
Mary Holdbrook, Leech 

St. 
E. Langdon, Cooken St. 



Martha Smith, Friar St. 

Eliz. Dark, Cooken St. 

Mary Wilkins, Rofemer 

Eliz. Giles, do. 

Cath. Hayes, Fifh St. 

Eliz. Hayes 

Em. Bryan, Friar St. 

PhebeNourfe, do. 

Ann Bibb, Cooken St. 

Pen. Slade, Church St. 

Mary May, Silver St. 

Mart. Edwards, Rof- 
mere 

Mary Garner,lueechSt. 

Ann Mills, Gofe Lane 

Sufan Morton, Rofmere 

Ann Carlton, Corn Mar- 
ket 

Ann Hill, Broad St. 

Bridgt. Crifp, Cooken 
St. 

Ann Lewis, Sidbury 

MaryMaccland,Church 
St. 

Sus. Spence, Cooken St. 

Thos. Lewis, Rofmer 

Geo. Knap, do. 

Mary Cot on 

Dorothy Smith, Sidbury 

Thos.Smallmann,WLount 



Wesley am. 



33 1 



Reb. Meredith^ College 

Yard 
Ifabel King, Fifh St. 
Sar. Williams, High St. 
Eft her Hop kins, Turkey 

St. 
Sar. Pritchard, Broad 

St. 
Sar. Ticket, Cain St. 

(Quay St.) 
Wm. Hathaway, Leech 

St. 
Ann B "la ckmore, ,Taylor's 

Lane 
Eliz. Norris, Burford 

St. (Birdport?) 
Eliz. Lee, Pike Cor- 

ner(?) 
yos. Fowler, Burford St. 
Geo. King, Fifh St. 
E Hz. Roger s,Cooken$t. 
Eliz. Tap, Leech St. 
John Vaughn, Newport 

St. 
Mary Vaughn 
Ann Carr, Leech St. 
H. May, Newport St. 
Rebec. Lewis, Leech St. 
Thos. Warton, Church 

St. 
Mary Goodall, Friar's 

Alley 
Sar. Bay lis, do. 
Mary Hughes, Sidbury 
Han. Stint on 



Sar. Barns ley, Dowley 
(Dolday ?) 

Han. Bachelor 

Mary I/les, Leech St. 

A. Mefflin, Pump St. 

Robt. Davis 

Sar. Mann, Newport 
St. 

Tho. Thacker, High St. 

Jo. Reynolds, Sidbury 

John Kingfton, Clap 
Gate (leader) 

Mary Savage, Clains 

Ann Lewis, Pump St. 

Thos. Wine, Lofemear 

Eliz . Hollow ay , Sid- 
bury 

Thos. Nourfe, Fryar Al- 
ley 

John Tyler, Fryer St. 

Han. Bryan, Turkey 

Sar. Randle, Doldy 

Eliz. Bow en, do. 

Geo. Tyler, Sidbury 

Richd. Bryan, Doldey 

Sarah Day, do. 

Jos. Afhton, Cripplegate 

Mary Mathews, Hare's 
Lane 

Enoch Pearce, Doldey 

Mary Jones, Sidbury 

Sar. Yeates, Fryars Al- 
ley 

Sus. Smith, Silver St. 

Jane Smith, do. 



33 2 



Wore eft er Seels. 



Eliz. Wells ; do. 

Jane Draper, Sidbury 

Mary Th acker, High St. 

Thos. Evans, Silver St. 

Jos. Bozuen, Doldey 

Geo. Smallman, Sidbury 

Ann Eaton, Cane St. 

Eliz. Renolds, Sidbury 

Wm. Day, Broad St. 
(leader) 

Thos. Tyler, Sidbury 

Jane S mailman, Sid- 
bury 

Alary Lamb 

Mrs. Smallman, Mount 

James Stone, do. 

Eliz. Stone 

Sarah Lewis, Clap 
Gate 

Sarah Najh 

Ann Newton 

Edmund Lewtyn, Fifh 
St. 

John Lee, Rofemear 
(leader) 

Cath. Mathews, Bir- 
port 

Lucia Bowers, Broad St. 

Jane Bow en, Bowk- 
lane (?) 

Ann Phillips, Sidbury 

Jos. Chillingworth, Friar 
St. 

Ann Evans, Newport 
St. 



Ann Young, Silver St. 

Ann Miller, Loefmear 

M. Lawrence, Birpurt 

John Corns, Fryer St. 

Ann Clark 

Sar. Davis, Dolday 

Ann Horn, Shambles 

Han. HaJJall, Loefmore 

Mary Spoon er, Leech St. 

Sus. Perkins, Loefmear 

John Knap, do. (leader) 

Ann Knap 

Mary Bell, Crofs 

Wm. Locker 

Jos. Giles, Loefmear 

Sufan Holmes 

Thos. Davis, St. John's 

Sar. Davis 

Mary Southorn 

Eliz. Pew, Loefmear 

Eliz. Love kin 

Wm. Corns 

Phe. Bullock, Loefmear 

Eliz. Knapp, do. 

James Evans, Newport 

St. (leader) 
Jos. Jones, St. Clement's 
Dinah Lamb, Silver St. 
Sarah Bradley, Friar St. 
Sarah Net herwood, Bank 

St. 6 

Sarah Jacox, Quay St. 
Joseph Jacox, Quay 
Henry Whitmay, Sid- 
bury 



Wesleyans. 



333 



John IVheeler, High St. 

Robt. Brown, Shambles 

Jas. Evans, Newport 
St. 

Eft her Chillingworth, 
Friar St. 

Eliz. Mantle, do. 

Marg. Price, Sidbury 

John Bay lis, do. 

John Tates, Friar's Al- 
ley 

Eliz. Jones, Turkey St. 

Sarah Atkins, Friar St. 

Mary Francis, Cooken 
St. 

Wm. Read, Crofs 

Wm, Brutt, Silver St. 

John Lee, Crump's 
Buildings 

Thos. Mill, Goofe Lane 

Ann Adley, Town Ditch 

Geo. Lee, Pump St. 

Thos. JVilliams, Powick 

Sarah JVilliams 

Thos. Bourn, Friar St. 

Thos. Smith, Silver St. 

John Wells, do. 

John Hughes, Rofemear 
(leader) 

Jane Bufby, Bank St. 

Ann Fell, Goofe Lane 

JVm. Drinkzuater, Col- 
lege Yard 



Wm. Day, Broad St. 

Fran. Hafivell, Rofe- 
mear 

Thos. Adams, do. 

Mary Ada?ns, do. 

Mary Badger, Shambles 

JV?n. Hay ward 

Margt. Perrins, St. 
Peter's 

Margt. Severn, All 
Saints 

Wm. Hobb, Clap Gate 

Wm. Giles, Silver St. 

A. Edmunds, Loefmear 

Eliz. Davis, do. 

Wm. Barton 

Harriet Harper, Bank 
Street 

John M Q Cloud, drum- 
major 

Wm. Foxwell, College 
Yard 

Eliz. Foxwell 

Ann Brown, All Saints 

Wm. Gardiner 

Ann Poppleton 

Eliz. Fuller 

Eliz. Holdridge 

Ann Holt 

John James 

Han. Barnfley 

Math. Wilkin s 






334 Worcefter Seels. 

The majority of thefe members were engaged 
in the glove trade (then flourifhing in Worcefter), 
others were fervants, cordwainers, milk fellers, 
water carriers, bricklayers, hatters, coopers, dyers, 
patten makers, finiths, watermen, one or two 
china workers, a milliner or two, and two or 
three of the females are defcribed as u gents." (!) 
The preacher's houfe-rent at that time amounted 
to nine guineas per annum, and rates and taxes 
about two guineas more. 

On the 20th of March, 1788, Wesley went to 
Stourport, where 

"Twenty years ago (says he) there was but 
one houfe ; now there are two or three ftreets ; 
and as the trade fwiftly increafes it will probably 
grow into a confiderable town. A few years 
fmce, Mr. Cowell largely contributed to the 
building of a preaching houfe here, in which both 
Calvinifts and Arminians might preach ; but 
when it was finifhed the Arminian preachers 
were totally excluded. Rather than go to law, 
Mr. Cowell built another houfe, both larger 
and more convenient. I preached there, at 
noon, to a large congregation, but to a much 
larger in the evening. Several clergymen were 
prefent, and were as attentive as any of the 
people. Probably there will be a deep work of 
God at this place. On the 22nd breakfafted 
at Mr. Lister s, in Kidderminster, with a few very 
ferious and pious friends." 



Wesley ans. 335 

In the following year he reiterates his com- 
plaint of want of room at Worcefter, and in 1790 
he fays : 

"March 17, went to Wore eft er in the after- 
noon, and found much comfort among a well 
eftablifhed people. They have no jars now, but 
all hold the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
peace." 

In that year I find the firft lift of clafs leaders, 
whofe names were — Sifter Clarke, Brothers 
Kingfton, Evans, Lewis, Lee, Day, King, Hughes, 
and the preacher alfo had a clafs, making nine 
claffes in all. On the 18th of March, 1790, 
Wesley went on to Stourport, " which (he fays) 
was twice as large as two years ago. They 
seemed to be ferious and attentive while I was 
fpeaking, but the moment I ceafed, fourfcore or 
a hundred of them began talking all at once. I 
do not remember ever to have been prefent at 
fuch a fcene before. This muft be amended, 
otherwife (if I fhould live) I will fee Stourport 
no more." 

There was fomething prophetic in his remark 
with regard to Stourport, for he faw that town no 
more. His work was now drawing to a clofe ; 
his long, a£tive, and beneficial life had been fpent 
in the fervice of his Maker, to whom he was now 
about to refign it. Wesley's habits of life and 






336 Wore eft er Seels, 

happy difpofition had tended greatly to lengthen 
his days. When in his feventy-fecond year he 
congratulated hirnfelf on his ftrength being the fame 
as it was thirty years previoufly, his fight confidera- 
bly better, and his nerves firmer. He had none of 
the infirmities of old age, and had loft feveral from 
which he had fuffered in his youth. The chief 
caufe of this was temperance and early rifing. 
For fifty years he rofe at four in the morning and 
preached about five o'clock ; nor did he travel lefs 
than 4,500 miles a year. His diary ceafes in 
October, 1790, and he died in March of the fol- 
lowing year, at the age of nearly eighty-eight. He 
had been fixty-five years in the miniftry, and had 
lived to fee the enliftment into his ranks of 300 
itinerant and 1000 local preachers, with 80,000 
members in his focieties. His defcription of 
Methodifm was as follows: 

" There is no other religious fociety under 
heaven which requires nothing of men in order 
to their admiffion into it but a defire to fave their 
fouls. Look all around you ! You cannot be 
admitted into the Church, or fociety of the Pres- 
byterians, Anabaptifts, Quakers, or any others, 
unlefs you hold the fame opinions with them, 
and adhere to the fame mode of worfhip. The 
Methodifts alone do not infift on your holding 
this or that opinion, but they think and let think. 
Neither do they impofe any particular mode of 
worfhip, but you may continue to worfhip in 



Wesleyans. 337 

your former manner, be it what it may. Now I 
do not know any other religious fociety, either 
ancient or modem, wherein fuch liberty of con- 
ference is now allowed, or has been allowed fince 
the age of the apoftles. Here is our glorying, 
and a glorying peculiar to us. What fociety 
ftiares it with us ? " 

When Lord Lyttelton publifhed his Dialogues 
of the Dead, in which his lordfhip fays — "Martin 
has fpawned a ftrange brood of fellows, called 
Methodifts, Moravians, Hutchinfonians, who are 
madder than "Jack was in his worft days," Wesley 
remarks — "His lordfliip can know nothing of 
Methodifm, and has taken no pains to afcertain. 
Since the writing of this, Lord Lyttelton is no 
more ; he is mingled with common duft \ but as 
his book furvives, there ftill needs an anfwer to 
the unjuft reflections contained therein." Both 
peer and preacher are now gone to their long 
account, and the Dialogues of the Dead is only 
ken in antique catalogues. So paffeth away all 
things human ! 

John Wesley did not live to fee his wifhes carried 
into effe£r. with regard to his favourite city of 
Worcefter — namely, by the enlargement of the 
chapel ; but in about four years after his death, 
the congregation having ftill continued to in- 
creafe, they purchafed, in 1795, the old chapel 
belonging to a branch of the Independents (fee 



338 



Wore eft er Seels. 




I 



p. 122) in Pump Street. This building was taken 
down and a new one ere£ted in 1796; but the 
fociety ftill increafing in numbers, more ground 
was obtained, and the prefent fpacious chapel 
was opened on the 8th of Auguft, 1813. This 
building coft the immenfe fum of 6,560/. The 
newfpaper account of that opening, by the cele- 
brated Dr. Adam Clarke, is as follows : 

" The new Methodift chapel in this city was 
opened for divine fervice on Sunday, the 8th, in 
the following manner. The minifter appointed 
to officiate entered the chapel at half-paft ten 
o'clock, when a hymn of praife and benediction 
was fung by the choir. The fixth chapter of 
II Corinthians was then read, and the confecra- 
tion hymn being fung by the congregation, the 
dedicatory prayer for the Divine bleffing was 
offered up by the Rev. James Byron, minifter 
of the chapel. The Rev. Dr. Adam Clarke 
preached in the morning and afternoon, and gave 
a clear and mafterly ftatement of the do£trines 
as taught and believed by the people called 
Methodifts. The Rev. John Stevens, from Lon- 
don, preached in the evening, and the whole 
collections amounted to 412/. is. 4J., being the 
largeft fum ever produced by a fimilar occafion." 

The old chapel in New Street was afterwards 
ufed for fome years as a refidence for the minifters 
of Pump Street chapel, but the houfe is now 
divided in two, has undergone other alterations, 
and is occupied as fhops. 



Wesleyanu 339 

A fmall chapel was ere&ed in Lowe/moor in 
'the year 1823, by the Wefleyans, chiefly for the 
ufe of the boatmen on the canal and the men 
employed in the wharf. The late Mifs Knapp 
(previoufly mentioned) was a great promoter 
of that undertaking, but it did not fucceed, 
and when the late Mr. Lake retired from Birdport 
(Countefs of Huntingdon's) chapel, and formed a 
fecond congregation of Huntingdonians, the latter 
purchafed the Lowe/moor chapel, which was then 
abandoned by the Wefleyans ; that was in the 
year 1836 ; it is frill occupied by the congregation 
who feparated from Birdport, 

The hiftory of the JVorcefter Wefleyans, beyond 
what has already been ftated, contains but little 
that is noteworthy. Their minutes and accounts 
are of the mereft routine character, and their 
proceedings feem to have been unchequered 
except by the occafional feceflion of members 
from their ranks to form other congregations, and 
by the yearly or biennial change of their minifters. 
Among the poor their labours have been attended 
with great refults, while their efforts in training 
up the young have been worthy of any body of 
Chriftians. The refident minifters for 1 860-1 
are Revs. J. McOwan and E. F. Hardwick. 
There are about two hundred children in their 
(Worcefter) fchools. The debt on their chapel 
is ftill large, amounting to 1200/, for the liquida- 
tion of which a fpecial effort is being made. 



340 I Force ft er Seels. 

There is a branch congregation of Wefleyans 
who have a chapel in Boughton Fields, St. 
John's ; it is ferved, I believe, bv the minifters of 
Pump Street. Moreover there are feveral parties 
of feceders from the parent congregation, including 
the Primitive Methodifts, or Ranters, who hold 
their meetings in South Street, Blockhoufe ; the 
Aflbciation Methodifts in Park Street, who had 
their new Zion chapel erected in 1845; and— 
the laft feceffion from the prolific parent ftock of 
Methodifm — a fmall congregation of Methodift 
Reformers, meeting at a houfe in Bull Entry. 

From the proceedings of the 117th conference, 
held in London, July, i860, I find that the num- 
ber of members in the JForcefter circuit was 320. 
This includes JForcefter (in which there were 
209 members), St. John's, Droitzuich, Norton, 
Smith en's Green (Leigh), Kempsey, and Croze /e. 
The total number of members in Great Britain 
was 310,311; on trial, 30,892; members in 
Ireland, 22,860 ; on trial, 1,826. Minifters in 
Great Britain, 965; on trial, 212; ditto in 
Ireland, 88 ; on trial, 25. Superintendents in 
Great Britain, 1 79 ; in Ireland, 27. Increafe of 
members during the year— in Great Britain, 
17,516; in Ireland, 3,129. The ftatiftics of 
the body in foreign parts and their millions 
are equallv flourifhino-. The minifters in England 
are affifted in their work bv about 14,000 local or 
lay preachers, who, purfuing their fecular calling 



Wesley am. 341 

during the week, preach in the fmaller chapels on 
the Sabbath. There are in England upwards of 
5,000 chapels, which have been erected at a coft 
of more than fix millions of money. 

In conclufion it may be ftated that there is now 
a confiderable variety of denominations who 
collectively are called Methodifts \ 1, the Wef- 
leyan Methodifts ; 2, the Methodifts of Lady 
Huntingdon's Connexion ; 3, the Methodifts of 
the New Connexion ; 4, the Primitive Metho- 
difts ; 5, the Bible Christians ; 6, Proteftant 
Methodifts ; 7, Affociation Methodifts ; 8, the 
Inghamites \ 9, a body of Reforming Methodifts, 
who feparated in confequence of what they con- 
fidered the abfolutifm of the Conference ; and I 
believe one or two more denominations, including 
a large and rapidly increafing body, chiefly in 
Wales, calling themfelves Calviniftic Methodifts, 
who are not included in what is called Lady 
Huntingdon's Connexion. The great founder of 
±vlethodifm, when he eftablifned his hierarchy of 
the Conference, and declared there was no religion 
under heaven which gave fo large a latitude for 
private opinion as his, fcarcely contemplated the 
poffibility of thefe minute fub-divifions in the 
ranks of his followers, -or, if he had, he would 
have agreed with the judicious Hooker, that "thofe 
who would over reform all things are like to the 
man who would never ceafe to whet his knife till 
there was no fteel left to make it ufeful," 




Count efs of Huntingdon * 



" Let not this weak unknowing hand 
Prefume thy bolts to throw, 
And deal damnation round the land, 
On each they judge thy foe.'" 



, ELINA, Countefs of Huntingdoft^ 
was in many ways a remarkable 
woman. She was of noble birth, 
a daughter of TFa/hington^ Earl of 
Ferrers ; hei prefence like wife was 
noble, her intelligence great, and her addrefs mod 
engaging. She lived to the unwonted age of 
nearly eighty-four, of which, forty-five years me 
was a widow ; and her long life was entirely 
fpent in inconceivable induflry and beneficence. 
Moreover, in an age of exceffive laxity of religious 
difcipline and corruption of morals, fhe was not 
afhamed of terrifying to the truth of the Gofpel, 
and readily abandoned the fplendours of the Court 
for the felf-denying labours of what may be called 
a home miflionary. Through her influence and 
example the poor defpifed Methodift preacher 



Countefs of Huntingdon's. 343 

was introduced into the higher circles, and an 
impetus given to the movement which, humanly 
fpeaking, could not have been gained in any other 
way. Lord Lyttelton^ and Dr. Stillingfieet, Pre- 
bendary of Worcefter, were among her friends ; 
the courtly Chefterfield, the Duchefs of Marlbo- 
rough , the gay and frivolous Najh, and even the 
infidel Bolingbroke^ paid her marked and fincere 
homage, and liftened to the preachers whom fhe 
patronifed and commended. In my previous 
chapter on Wefleyan Methodifm, allufion has 
been made to the connexion of the Countefs 
with the Wesley s and Whitefield ; to her adoption of 
the latter as her chaplain, and embracing his 
Calviniftic views ; and the confequent feparation 
of Methodifm under three leaderfhips. My 
prefent attempt therefore will be confined to the 
part which the Countefs of Huntingdon bore in 
the great attack on the fpiritual atrophy of the 
Church, and the "dry rot of dulnefs and in- 
difference" which chara&erifed the laft century 
as well among diffenters as in the Eftablifhment. 
It has been faid of her ladyfhip that when fhe 
firft applied herfelf to religion fhe was not a 
reformed roue — a fafhionable, ufed-up, difap- 
pointed, death-dreading dowager, who had got 
on her knees when (he could no longer fit up 
to cards, and had turned her eyes towards 
Heaven only when they were unable to difcover 




344 Worcefier Serfs. 

the ace of fpades. At the early age of nine 
years the fight of a corpfe of her own age im- 
prefled her young mind with ferious thoughts, 
and in after life a fevere illnefs gave birth to 
that evangelical zeal and fervour which fo dif- 
tinguifhed her. She had, befides, the advan- 
tage of marrying a peer, who, though only a 
plain, well-behaved man, taking no part in the 
Methodift movement, feems to have entertained 
fo great a refpeft for her that he never interfered 
with her fchemes of Chriftian ufefulnefs, nor 
even when her expenfes were great in the way of 
chapel building, chapel buying, and college 
founding, did he interpofe his authority, but at 
his death he left her the entire management of 
her children and their fortunes. 

"Become her own miftrefs (fays Dr. Gibbon, 
in his memoirs of this pious woman) fhe refolved 
to devote herfelf wholly to the fervice of Chrift, 
and the fouls redeemed by His blood. Her zealous 
heart embraced cordially all whom flie efteemed 
real Chriftians, whatever their denomination or 
opinions might be, but being herfelf in fentiment 
more congenial with Mr. TVhitefield than the Mr. 
Wesley s fhe favoured thofe efpecially who were the 
minifters of the Calviniftic perfuafion, according 
to the literal fenfe of the articles of the Church of 
England. And with the intention of giving them 
a greater fcene of ufefulnefs, fhe opened her houfe 
in Park Street, London, for the preaching of the 
Gofpel, fuppofing that, as a peerefs of the realm } 



Countefs of Huntingdon's. 345 

fhe had an indifputable right to employ as her 
family chaplains thofe minifters of the church 
whom fhe patronifed. On the week days her 
kitchen was filled with the poor of the flock, for 
whom fhe provided inftruction ; and on the 
Lord's day the great and noble were invited to 
fpend the evening in her drawing-room, where 
Mr. Whitefield, Mr. Romaine, Mr. Jones, and 
other minifters of Chrift, addrefTed to them faith- 
fully all the words of this life, and were heard 
with apparently deep and ferious attention." 

Nor was this eminent woman only ken and 
admired in the drawing-room : in the cottages of 
the poor her vifits were efteemed as thofe of an 
angel of mercy. Her affection, her boundlefs 
charity, with chafte and winning converfation, 
endeared her to all, and her life and fortune were 
fpent in providing for the fpiritual wants of the 
maffes. To accomplifh this, the leaders of the 
great religious movement were compelled to 
refort to the agency of lay preaching and other 
irregularities of which the bulk of the Church 
clergy difapproved ; and fo the Countefs and her 
friends, in fpite of their earneft defire to remain 
in the ranks of the Eftablifhment, and to warm 
its dying embers into life, were driven to take 
refuge under the Toleration Act, regiftering their 
places of worfhip and licenfing^their preachers as 
the Act required. for difTenters. Thus the Church 
loft a large army of her moft faithful fons. For- 



34 6 



Wore eft er SeSfs. 




tunately this was an age of State toleration ; and 
although the old fpirit of perfecution exhibited 
itfelf in fociety in a variety of petty ways, yet 
how different was the condition of our fore- 
fathers, efpecially in the reign of Charles II, 
when the prifons were crowded with noncon- 
forming ! Happily He by whom kings reign and 
princes decree juftice has given us a fucceffion of 
fovereigns of the houfe of Brunfwick who, to a 
great extent, have been favourable to religious 
liberty. Thus George III^ grandfather of our 
gracious Queen, on being informed that a bill 
tending to infringe the liberties of diffenters 
would fhortly be brought into the Houfe of 
Commons, declared that mould it pafs through 
both Houfes of Parliament he would not give his 
confent to it, adding that there mould be no per- 
fecution during his reign. Moreover, His Majefty 
fo highly approved of the Countefs of Hunting- 
don's zeal in fpreading the Gofpel that he once 
emphatically remarked, " I wifh there was a 
Lady Huntingdon in every diocefe in this king- 
dom." 

Although driven from the bofom of the Eftab- 
lifhment, the Countefs ftill laboured rather to 
extend its order of fervices and its doctrines, 
unfettered by ecclefiaftical courts, than to eftablifh 
any new fyftem of her own ; and her admiration 
of our incomparable liturgy was fo great that it 



Countefs of Huntingdon's. 347 

was retained, and is, I believe, ftill ufed in the 
chapels belonging to this fection of Methodifm ; 
at leaft fuch is the cafe at Worcefter. Undoubt- 
edly, for a juft conception of the relative pofitions 
of God and man, for fublimity of language, and 
a comprehenfive recognition of all the finner's 
wants, the Church liturgy is immeafurably fupe- 
rior to the vulgar and familiar effufions fometimes 
heard in extemporaneous approaches to the 
Throne of grace. In the life of the Rev. Grif- 
fith fones, the celebrated founder of the Weljh 
circulating charity fchools, is this note : 

" Living amongft diffenters, who diflike forms 
of prayer, he committed to memory the whole of 
the baptifmal and burial fervices ; and as his 
delivery was very energetic, his friends frequently 
heard diffenters admire his addreffes, which they 
praifed as being extempore effufions unfhackled 
by the Prayer Book." 

As early as the year 1757, Lady Huntingdon 
had engaged a Mr. Madan to itinerate, and he 
paffed through TVorcefterJhire and the midland 
counties, preaching, where permitted to do fo, in 
the parifh churches, and having among his audi- 
tors riot only church people, but Quakers, Bap- 
tiffs, and Independents. The caufe was foftered 
and promoted by the Rev. Thomas Biddulph^ a 
church clergyman refiding at Henwick Hill^ who 
opened his houfe morning and evening for prayer. 



348 Worcefter Seels. 

and the little band of worfhippers who profited 
by this practice regularly followed the rev. gen- 
tleman to Tibberton church, where he at that 
time preached. This was in the year 1767; but 
it feems that about the fame time a Mr. Engli/h, 
one of Lady Huntingdon' s fenior ftudents from 
Trevecca College, was labouring at Worcefter, 
from whence he was fubfequently removed by 
her to Chichefter. When Mr. Biddulph left 
Worcefter, and his houfe was no longer at the 
difpofal of the fociety, they affembled in a garret, 
ufed for dyeing leather, at a Mr. Skinner's ware- 
houfe, fituated in the Town Ditch, now called 
Sanfome Street — a part of the city which has 
undergone extenfive modern improvements, the 
old buildings having long fince been taken down, 
and large warehoufes erected on its fite. In that 
garret Sir Richard Hill and his venerable brother, 
Rowland Hill, frequently preached. On one 
occafion the latter was paffing, with another 
minifter, through the ftreet in which the old 
building flood, when he immediately recognifed 
it, and faid, in a way peculiar to himfelf, " Why 
this is the place, is it not, where we ufed to 
preach, at Mr. Skinner's ? Yes, in Mr. Skinner's 
garret." 

Lady Huntingdon herfelf vifited Worcefter, in 
company with feveral clergymen, in the year 
1769, and in a letter written to a friend her lady- 
fhip fpeaks thus of Worcefter : 



Count efs of Huntingdon's. 349 

"Where (fays fhe) we have full employment 
in miniftering to a people not unwilling to hear 
the Gofpel. The labours of Mr. Glafcott, Mr. 
Venn, and others, have excited a difpofition 
among the inhabitants of this city to attend to 
the things which belong to their peace ; nearly 
two hundred perfons have been united in a re- 
ligious fociety, many of whom have given deci- 
five proofs of their converfion to God, and are 
encouraging rewards of our difmterefted labours 
for our great and gracious Mafter. To fpread 
the knowledge of His bleffed name amongft thofe 
who know not God has been my chief defire for 
many years, and I think that defire has fuffered 
no diminution, but rather gained ftrength, fince 
I left Bath, and my daily prayers and exertions 
are made with a view to an increafed ability to 
afford my fellow finners all the bleffings con- 
nected with that unfpeakably precious Gofpel 
which is the power of God unto falvation." 

The vigorous and well-directed efforts of her 
ladyfhip, and the powerful preaching of Shirley, 
Rowland Hill, and others, excited an intereft 
in JVorcefter fo lively and extenfive that the 
Countefs was folicited by a confiderable number 
of perfons to erect a chapel for the preaching 
of that Gofpel which they could not then hear 
within the walls of their parifh churches. To 
this requeft fhe readily yielded, and the neceffary 
fteps for that purpofe were taken without delay. 



350 Wore eft er Seels. 

"Thus have I been called (obferves fhe) to 
erect another chapel for the fervice of the living 
God. May He deign to blefs it, and caufe the 
cloud of His gracious prefence to reft upon it. It 
is His work: I can only plant: His Holy Spirit 
will water and give the increafe. I leave all 
events with Him. Great difficulties and difcou- 
ragements attend every effort to fpread the know- 
ledge of divine truth, but thofe who labour with 
me have been taught to feel that it is not by 
might nor by power, and that nothing fhort of 
the vital energy of the Holy Ghoft can give 
fuccefs to the preaching of the Gofpel." 

This chapel was erected in Birdport, in 177 1, 
partly by fubfeription, and the intereft of the re- 
maining debt was paid by Lady Huntingdon till the 
congregation was enabled to liquidate the whole. 
The building was opened in 1773, by the Hon. 
and Rev. Walter Shirley (a relative of her lady- 
fhip) and the Rev. Mr. Wilh. 

"It would afford you unfpeakable pleafure 
(writes the Countefs to a friend) to hear of the 
amazing fuccefs which hath attended our labours 
at Worcefter. The chapel was crowded, and 
multitudes went away unable to gain admittance. 
We had a glorious difplay of the power and grace 
of our adorable bnmanuel, and dear Mr. Shirley 
was enabled to terrify of the falvation which is pro- 
vided for the guilty and the loft, with great 
boldnefs and fidelity. I know not which way to 
turn, I have fo many applications from the people 



Countefs of Huntingdon's. 35 1 

in various parts of the kingdom for more labour- 
ers. Pray mightily to the Lord to fend forth a 
hoft of holy devoted fouls, to proclaim the glory of 
His righteoufnefs boldly to an unbelieving and 
degenerate world. I feel that if I had a thoufand 
worlds and a thoufand lives, through grace affift- 
ing, that dear Lamb of God — my beft, my eternal, 
my only friend — mould have all devoted to His 
fervice and glory. O pray for me, that I may be 
more extenfively ufeful in promoting the extenfion 
of His kingdom upon earth, for it is matter of un- 
ceafing grief that I have done fo little for fo good 
a mailer." 



For feveral years the Worcefter chapel continued 
to be fupplied by ftudents from Trevecca (a college 
eftablifhed by her ladyfhip). Mr. Glazebrook, the 
firft ftudent propofed in that feminary, was ordained 
a prieft by Hurd, Bifhop of Worcefter, in 1777, 
and fo great was the impreffion made on the young 
man by that folemn rite as to draw from him the 
following remarks : 

a Never can I forget the ferious manner with 
which the worthy Bilhop of Worcefter addreffed 
himfelf to the candidates when I was ordained 
prieft : his warnings and exhortations were fuch 
as well became a governor of the Church, and 
were truly expreflive of that anxious concern 
which every godly prelate muft feel when fending 
forth perfons to undertake the paftoral office." 



352 Worcefter Seels. 

Mr. Glazebrook ferved feveral curacies. Among 
the ftudents whofe names I find in the fupplies 
for Worcefter chapel were TVilks, Green, Hayes, 
Englijh^ Jones, Merror, IFinhvorth, Glafcott, 
Newell, and Trench. 

In 1 77 1— the year when JVorcefter chapel was 
built — Lady Huntingdon and Wesley formally 
feparated, after a controverfy on the fubject of 
faith and works, predeftination and Chriftian 
perfectibility, which lafted many years, and was 
marked on both fides by a confiderable degree of 
acrimony and language unbecoming to profeiTors 
of religion. Rowland Hill likewife offended her 
ladyfhip by fome injudicious article, and was 
excluded from her chapels, when his friends and 
followers erected one for him, and Rowland con- 
tinued to be loyed and honoured by White field 
and the Wefleyans, even Lady Huntingdon 
affifting with a liberal contribution the erection 
of his Surrey chapel. But greater troubles than 
the ieparation from thefe good men awaited her 
ladyfhip. In 1777, the Rev. IV. Sellon, of St. 
James's, Clerkenwell, inftituted a fuit in the 
Confiflorial Court againft two of Lady Hunting- 
don's minifters, for carrying on Divine fervicc 
againft his confent in his parifh ; and although 
as a peerefs her ladyfhip thought fhe had the 
right of appointing chaplains and carrying on 
divine fervice, the fuit went againft her, and 



Countefs of Huntingdon's. 353 

her congregation would have been difperfed had 
fhe not then, but moft reluctantly, decided to 
leave the Eftablifhment and to become a dif- 
fenter, under the protection of the Toleration 
A£L The Revs. MefTrs. Wills and Taylor agreed 
to fecede with her and take the oaths of allegi- 
ance as difTenting minifters, taking care, how- 
ever, to retain fuch parts of the Church fervice as 
are allowed to diflenters by the canons. Then 
they carried on their worfhip in uninterrupted 
peace and harmony. Their vindication for this 
ftep — addrefTed to the Archbifhops and Bifhops 
— ftates, among other things — 

" And this we defire to do not from a fadtious 
or fchifmatical fpirit — not from a defire to pro- 
pagate herefies in the church of Godj nor from 
any finifter or lucrative motives whatever, but 
from a fimple view of glorifying GW, of preaching 
the Gofpel, and of being ufeful to our fellow- 
creatures in that way which is moft agreeable to 
our own confciences, and which we humbly con- 
ceive to be moft calculated for the general good 
of thofe many thoufands that attend the miniftry 
of ourfelves and of thofe connected with us. 
And as great indulgences have lately been given 
by the legislature to religious perfons of various 
denominations to worfhip God in the way moft 
agreeable to their confciences, we flatter ourfelves 
our condudt. will give the lefs offence in this land 
of liberty to our fuperiors in Church and State, 
efpecially as we determined to maintain the 



354 



Worcefter Setts. 




\ 



do&rine of the former, and in all things defire to j 
acquit ourfelves as faithful and dutiful fubje&s | 
belonging to the latter." 

Lady Huntingdon's own obfervations on her | 
feparation from the Church were thefe : 

" I am to be caft out of the Church now, only 
for what I have been doing thefe forty years, 
fpeaking and living for Chrijt. And if the days 
of my captivity are now to be accomplifhed, 
thofe that turn me out and fo fet me at liberty may 
foon feel what it is, by fore diftrefs themfelves, 
for thefe hard fervices they have caufed me. 
Blefled be the Lord y I have not one care relative 
to this event, but to be found exadtly faithful to 
God and man through all." 



Confcientious clergymen of the Church were at 
that time painfully circumftanced : multitudes 
were perifhing in ignorance, yet the regulations of 
the Eftablifhment forbad them to ftep acrofs the 
boundaries of a parifh even to fave a foul from 
death - f many however preferred to do fo and 
rifk the confequences. The venerable Berridge y 
when interrogated by his diocefan for preaching 
out of his parifh, faid — "Why, my lord,I fee many 
perfons playing at bowls and going a hunting out 
of their own parifhes, yet they meet with no re- 
proof: why fliould I be blamed more than 
they ? " In fome parifhes in the north, the local 
clergy, on hearing of a propofed incurfion of the 



Countefs of Huntingdon's. 355 

Methodifts, iffued handbills, inviting all the 
parishioners to the market-place in defence of 
the Church, and giving them a pint of beer each, 
mobbed the poor preachers and treated them with 
great brutality. At Norwich , fome of the minifters 
were dragged by the hair of the head through the 
city, while in other places the eftablifhed clergy 
headed their parifhioners, with bludgeons, and 
beat the Methodifts out of their boundaries, 
ducked them in the river, or otherwife maltreated 
them. 

In a note appended to the Rev. W. H. 
HavergaTs publifhed fermon on the death of the 
Rev. jfobn Davies^ late re£tor of St. Clement's in 
this city, it is faid to be a fa£t, of which witneffes 
are ftill living, that the eftimable father of an 
alderman in Worcefter was hunted like a wild 
beaft with all forts of miffiles along High Street, 
becaufe he had befriended a preacher of Lady 
Huntingdon's connection. The perfon alluded to 
I believe was the late Mr. fames Allies^ who was 
a truftee of Birdport chapel ; and he and his 
wife were often groflly infulted while going to 
and returning from that place of worfhip. The 
name of "Methodift" was at that time attached 
to any one who manifefted a ferious fenfe of 
religion, and this nickname was frequently fol- 
lowed by trie moft opprobrious treatment. How 
different to this was the conduct of the venerable 



356 



Worcefter Setts. 









Dr. Hurd, then bifhop of Worcefter, who, not- 
withftanding his oppofition to the general claims 
of diffenters, refufed to be guided by the fpirit 
of the age in this refpect. Being in the habit of 
preaching frequently (we are told in the life of 
Lady Huntingdon), the bifhop had obferved a poor 
man remarkably attentive, and made him fome 
little prefents. After a while he miffed his 
humble auditor, and, meeting him, faid, "John, 
how is it that I do not fee you in the aifle as 
ufual ? " John with fome hefitation replied, "My 
lord, I hope you will not be offended, and I will 
tell you the truth. I went the other day to hear 
the Methodifts, and I underftand their plain words 
fo much better that I have attended them ever 
fince." The bifhop put his hand into his pocket, 
and gave him a guinea, with words to this effect : 
"God blefs you; go where you can receive the 
greateft profit to your foul." 

On the 3rd of March, 1790, a plan was drawn 
up by order of the Countefs and her affociation for 
the purpofe of perpetuating the connection after 
her deceafe* By that plan, TVorcefter, Eve/ham, 
and Kidderminfter, formed the twelfth diftricl: ; 
but the plan was abandoned, and to this caufe 
it may be attributed that this feci: has not become 
fo extenfive and flourifhing as it might have been. 
Her ladyfhip's will was made in the fame year 
(1790), leaving her chapels, &c, to certain perfons 



Count efs of Huntingdon's. 357 

named, the law of mortmain preventing the faid 
property being left oftenfibly for religious pur- 
pofes, unlefs the bequeft was made a year before 
the deceafe. Lady Huntingdon died in 1791, in 
her eighty-fourth year, after having fpent her 
long life and her whole income — more than 
2,000/ a year — in promoting the fpread of the 
Gofpel. 

The congregation at Birdport chapel having 
greatly increafed, it was determined, in 1804, 
that the chapel fhould be taken down and a 
more capacious one erected on its fite, capable of 
containing about one thoufand perfons. The new 
building was opened by the Rev. "John Brown^ 
afterwards of Cheltenham. In the year 1806, the 
Rev. Edward Lake vifited Worcefter, and two 
years afterwards, at the requeft of this congrega- 
tion, he became their refident paftor. Under his 
miniftry the chapel became fo thronged as to 
render it neceflary to make a confiderable en- 
largement, and on the completion of this altera- 
tion, in 18 15, the building, which was then 
adapted to hold two thoufand perfons, was re- 
opened by the Rev. Rowland Hill. 

Poor Rowland Hill! At that time he had 
completed the ufually allotted threefcore years 
and ten of human life, but as though gifted with 
a prophetic forefight of a yet long remaining 
period of ufefulnefs he difliked any reflection 



358 



Wore eft er Setts. 




i 



pafled by other perfons on his age. Walking 
through one of the ftreets of Briftol, towards the 
Tabernacle, where he frequently preached, he 
heard his name mentioned by two ladies, one of 
whom faid, "Poor Rowland Hill! 'tis time he 
gave up preaching.'' "Yes," faid the other, 
" he grows feeble and ineffective' — fome friend 
ought to tell him in pity to flop." The obfer- 
vations were not true, nor were they agreeable to 
Rowland ; the exclamation was rankling in the 
old man's mind as he entered the pulpit to 
preach, and his feelings were not at all improved 
by feeing the two ladies in front of the gallery 
before him. He gave out his text and began, 
"As I was coming along to preach here this 
evening I overheard two ladies before me, when 
one faid to the other, c Poor Rowland Hill ! it 
is time he gave up,' and the other anfwered, 
c He grows old and infirm.' Now, I tell thefe 
fame ladies, whom I fee there in front of the 
gallery (and he pointed with his finger to the 
place where they fat), that poor old Rowland Hill 
(and he bitterly emphafized the words) will not 
give up while he has any energy or power left 
in his poor body to denounce fin and declare the 
unfearchable riches of Chrift." The effect was as 
electrifying as the a£t was cruel and uncalled for. 
There is no record of Mr. HilFs fermon at 
Worcefter^ or that it was diftinguifhed by any of 



Count efs of Huntingdon' s , 359 

thofe peculiarities for which he was famous in his 
younger days ; but I am told that while furveying 
the enlarged chapel in Birdport, in company with 
the late Mr. James Allies, he turned round and faid, 
in his own peculiar way, " Well, brother Allies, 
it is the beft patch I have ever feen." Some 
years fubfequently, when attending a miffionary 
meeting in this city, Rowland Hill was loudly 
cheered on rifing to addrefs the audience, where- 
upon he faid, with much ferioufnefs, " I wifli 
you wouldn't make that noife, it founds fo much 
like a play-houfe." 

It is a curious feature in the geography of 
Birdport chapel, that one half is located in the 
parifli of St. Andrew and the other half in St. 
Switbin's; and about the year 18 15, attempts 
were made here, as well as in London and other 
parts of the country, to affefs diflenting places of 
worfhip to the poor rate. The truftees of Bird- 
port chapel refifted the claim, which was a very 
heavy one, until the parifh officers of St. Andrew's 
feized their lamps and were about to remove the 
organ, whereupon the rate was paid under proteft, 
and the truftees fought the advice of Rowland Hill, 
who was then engaged in doing battle for his own 
Surrey chapel and others. His anfwer was 
chara&eriftic : 



360 JVorcefter Seels. 

" We have baffled all their attempts (fays he) 
at Surrey chapel, without making a fingle com- 
promife or paying a penny. We let no pews ; 
all that is given to fupport the place is by volun- 
tary fubfcription ; no one is allowed to know what 
that amount is but the truftees. Voluntary 
donations are not taxable ; or if they were, our 
enemies cannot find out what is the amount. 
At prefent my advice is that you leave nothing in 
the chapel worth their feizing : I would put all 
the candles in tin fockets not worth a penny 
each ! defire all the people to take their books 
with them when they depart from worfhip — not 
to fuffer any cufhion to remain in the chapel or in 
the pulpit on the Sunday after the fervice is over, 
however troublefome or inconvenient this may be. 
If the organ itfelf is deemed a fixture, I would take 
the pipes out of it, ihut it up, and fing without 
it. In the room of the dial I would only let an 
hour glafs appear on the pulpit ; and in fhort, 
hold forth to the public every evidence you can 
pofiibly give how vehemently you are perfecuted 
and how determined you are to refill." 

Rowland Hill had vifited JVorcefter in 1771, 
1774, and probably at other times before the year 
18 15, as alfo fubfequently; but although he was 
much attached to the Countefs of Huntingdon 
and her various flocks throughout the country, 
her ladyfhip's mode of governing them he fup- 
pofed to be incompatible with necefTary freedom 
on the part of the minifters. Neverthelefs he 
warmly coincided with this denomination in their 



Count efs of Huntingdon's. 361 

defence of the Church Eftablifhment and the 
adoption of her liturgy. In fa£t, no one ever 
exceeded him in his admiration of the fpirituality 
and beauty of the Book of Common Prayer, and 
the homilies he was wont to call ic good, found, 
old-fafhioned fermons." A friend of his once 
faid, " If a man could but hear only half of 
the extempore prayers offered up in this country 
on any Sunday he would fall down on his knees 
in an ecftacy to give vent to his thankfulnefs for 
the liturgy." u That he would, fure enough," 
faid Rowland^ " and let me afk if a man's heart 
cannot refpond to thofe fpiritual petitions which 
abound in our fervice, what has grace done in 
it ?" As to the existence of an Eftablifhment, 
he on one occafion faid, "You know that from 
time immemorial there has been a certain State 
faddle, and thofe who have a firm feat on it will 
naturally kick off thofe who try to get up behind, 
and if you could get on it you would do juft the 
fame." Moreover, he evinced his refpect for 
the Church by clofing his own chapel whenever 
a preacher of evangelical principles occupied the 
pulpit of the Eftablifhment, the fervices of which 
he himfelf likewife attended, and invited all his 
flock to follow his example. u Poor Rowland' 9 
was one of the beft pulpit beggars ever known, 
and was greatly depreffed at a poor colle&ion : 
" Had I my way (faid he) I would hang all 



362 



Worcefter Sefts. 




mifers, but by the reverfe of the common mode: 
I would hang them up by the heels, that their 
money might run out of their pockets, and make 
a famous fcramble for you to pick up and put on 
the plate/' 

But to return from this digreflion : The Rev. 
Edward Lake remained as paftor at Birdport 
chapel for twenty-eight years, and then a mifun- 
derftanding occurred, which ended in his retire- 
ment from that fphere of ufefulnefs. It would, 
however, be as ufelefs as unwife to attempt to 
ftate the merits of this unhappy contention. 
Upon his retirement, Mr. Lake, affifted by fome 
of his warm and ancient friends, took a fmall 
chapel in Lowefmoor, in the year 1836, having 
purchafed it of the Wefleyans (fee p. 339), and 
officiated there for the laft feven years of his life. 
He died in 1843, at ^ e a S e °f fixty-four, after 
thirty-three years' refidence in this city. He 
was a man much attached to the Church Eftab- 
lifhment, was eminently devoted to the great 
work in which his life was fpent, and his fociety 
was welcome far beyond the reftri&ed circle of 
his own fe£t. 

After Mr. Lake's feceflion from Birdport chapel 
it was for fome time ferved by fupplies. Mr. 
Hewlings was the firft permanent minifter ap- 
pointed, and in 1853 ^ e was fucceeded by the 
prefent eftimable paftor, the Rev. 7". Dodd. 



Countefs of Huntingdon* s . 363 

The temporary affairs of this chapel are con- 
ducted by a committee of management, elected 
annually at a meeting of the congregation, when 
the accounts are read for the part year. In the 
chapel deeds it is fpecially provided that the 
prayers of the Church of England fhall be ufed, 
alfo that the truftees fhall have the choice of the 
minifters ; but I believe the latter privilege is 
waived, the minifters being chofen by the con- 
gregation. The members fubfcribe to fifteen 
articles of belief, which are perfectly confonant 
with the doctrinal articles of the Church of 
England; and the remaining articles they ftate to 
be agreeable to their belief, but not effential to 
falvation. The fchools connected with the 
chapel were eftablifhed in 1791, by the Rev. 
Mr. Harris ; reorganifed in 1799, by the Rev. 
R. Bradley^ of Manchefter; and for many years 
have been extenfively ufeful not only in the city 
but also in the furrounding neighbourhood. At 
prefent there are upwards of three hundred chil- 
dren, who are inftructed by more than forty 
teachers. There are Sunday fchool and congre- 
gational libraries, Bible clafles, clothing clubs, 
fubfcriptions to millions; Dorcas , Infant Friend, 
Diftrict Vifiting, and Chriftian Mutual Provident 
focieties, charities, and other means of extenfive 
ufefulnefs belonging to this connexion. The 
late Mrs, Gamidge and Mrs. Roberts kindly be- 



364 



Wore eft er Seels, 






queathed a fum of money, the intereft of which 
is diftributed in half-crowns, half-yearly, among 
the poor of the congregation, about Lady Day 
and Michaelmas. The facramental collections 
are alfo appropriated to the poor connected with 
the chapel. There being no endowment, the 
chapel is fupported by quarterly fubferiptions and 
collections. There are two hundred free fittings 
appropriated for the poor. 

With regard to Lowefmoor chapel, at the death 
of Mr. Lake he was fucceeded by Mr. E. 
Bayfield, Mr. Woods, Mr. Sander/on, and Mr. 
Henry Wardley, the prefent minifter. A con- 
fiderable improvement was made in the chapel in 
i860, and it was reopened on April nth of that 
year. The front w T as renovated, and juft within the 
porch a fcreen was erected to prevent annoyance 
to the congregation from draughts or inclemency 
of the weather. The chapel was heated by means 
of Haderfs (Trowbridge) apparatus, fo arranged 
as to afford moderate and equal warmth to all 
parts of the building. The pews were ftained and 
varnifhed and means taken to increafe fitting 
accommodation. A handfome new pulpit and 
communion rails were provided, and the fpace 
within the rails and the pulpit ftairs neatly car- 
peted. The colouring of the walls is French 
grey. In the centre of the ceiling is a large 
ground-glafs light, of fimilar principle to that in 



Count efs of Huntingdon's. 365 

the new picture gallery at Witley Court, and 
this is covered outfide with a fkylight. A very 
handfome gilt chandelier of forty lights is fuf- 
pended below the window, and furnifhes abundant 
and effective light. Behind the chapel is a com- 
modious fchool-room recently erected, which may 
be ufed for the congregation during divine fervice. 
This is feparated from the body of the chapel by 
temporary partitions on a novel principle, and fo 
conftructed as that they may be withdrawn. The 
fchool-room is immediately in the rear of the 
pulpit, and when the communication is opened, 
in the manner defcribed, any perfon fitting within 
that apartment may hear diftinctly the whole of 
the fervice. The fchool is occupied by the chil- 
dren on Sundays, fo that they may not difturb the 
congregation. Mr. Jofeph Wood (then Sheriff, 
now Mayor of the city) was both architect and 
builder, and too much praife cannot be awarded 
to the firm of Wood and Son for the manner in 
which they executed the works. The con- 
gregations at the reopening were numerous, and 
included many of the principal inhabitants of the 
city, amongft them the Mayor and Mrs. Haigh, 
R. Padmore, Efq,, M.P., the Sheriff and family, 
Aid. Lewis and Price, feveral minifters of different 
diffenting denominations, &c. The fermons 
were preached by the Rev. Robert Steel, minifter 
of the Scotch chapel, Cheltenham. 



366 Wore eft er Seels. 

In conclufion it may be ftated that the Coun- 
tefs of Huntingdon's connection differ from the 
Wefleyans by holding the do&rinal articles of the 
Church in their Calviniftic fenfe ; from the Bap- 
tifts, by the adminiftration of baptifm to infants, 
and that by fprinkling or pouring ; from the 
Independents, in admitting the lawfulnefs and in 
many cafes the expediency of ufing a Scriptural 
liturgy ; from the Church herfelf, in being free to 
employ whatever they deem valuable and to 
refufe what appears to them objedionable in her 
fervices, while they are exempt from the influ- 
ence to which they believe fhe is expofed by her 
union with the State. 



The End 



Printed by Jofiah Allen, juri., Birmingham. 






/ 









it I 






Advert if ernents. 



THE LEADING ADVERTISING PAPER IN THE COUNTY 
AND CITY OF WORCESTER IS 

THE WORCESTER HERALD 

iFor tfje Cotmtg anfc &ftg of SSEorcester. 

ESTABLISHED 1794. 

The WORCESTER HERALD has been for years 
at the head of the Worcestershire Press, it being the lead- 
ing Advertising Paper in the County, and having an 
average Circulation to September 29th, 1860, of 3,798 
Copies Weekly, or DOUBLE that of either of its Wor- 
cester contemporaries, and more than treble the average 
circulation of weekly newspapers in general. 

The HERALD is entirely independent of political 
party, and circulates among all classes and individuals 
of every shade of opinion. * 

All Advertisements of an objectionable character are 
excluded from its columns. 

Price — Unstamped 4d., or 4s. 6d. per quarter. 

„ Stamped, for Post, 5d., or 5s. 6d. per quarter. 

The HERALD is published every Friday Evening, 
at 72, High Street, Worcester. 

CHALK & HOLL, Proprietors. 



37° Advertlfements . 



4t. W@@© 9 

(Successor to the late W\ Wood) 

GUN, RIFLE, & PISTOL MAKER, 

50, BROAD STREET, WORCESTER, 

BEGS TO SOLICIT AN INSPECTION OF HIS 

BREECH LOADING GUNS, RIFLES, 

AND 

miBFIBAiraH© FUSIMDILS, 

WHICH WILL BE FOTOB EQUAL TO ANY HOUSE IN THE TRADE. 



RIFLE CORPS SUPPLIED 

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS. 

AMMUHITION OF EVERY DESCRIPTION 

OF THE BEST QUALITY. 



EPHEAIM NOEMAN, 

TM BML1E, COFfll 101ST1E, 

AND 

FAMILY GROCER, 
51, HIGH STREET, WORCESTER. 



J. DARKE, 

UPHOLSTERER 1, CABINET 

MANUFACTURER, 
No. 18, BROAD STREET, WORCESTER. 

Successor to the business of the late Mr. Charles Freame. 



Advertifements. 



37 1 



FREDERICK H. LINGHAM, 

89, HIGH STREET, WORCESTER, 

FUENISHING 

AND 

GENERA L IRONM ONGER 

AGENT FOR 




EXHIBITED AT THE GKEAT EXHIBITION OF 1851, 

And gained the only Prize Medal, with special Approbation, 
awarded to Cooking Grates ; and as a proof of its continued 
superiority of principles and workmanship, it received the 
Silver Medal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, 
at their Meeting in July, 1859. 

Prices the same as the Makers, which, together with numerous 
Testimonials, may be had on application as above, or free by post, 

ALSO, AGENT FOR 

JOYCE'S PATENT STOVES & FUEL, 

THE ONLY STOVE WITHOUT A FLUE, 

For which Her Majesty's Royal Letters Patent have been granted. 
Prices, from Twelve Shillings to Six Guineas. 



372 Advertifements. 



•JOHN TURLEY AND CO.. 

C^/ T> D^Tim TXT X >)^Y_YAYYr|r(YYYivY 

CROSS, WORCESTER, 

Have always on hand an extensive and well-assorted STOCK OF 
CARPETS of the newest design and best manufacture, in Brussels, 
Velvet-Pile, Tapestry, Scotch, Dutch, Felts, Druggets, &c. 

Damasks, Moreens, and Upholsterers' Trimmings in great variety; 
Floor Cloths in all widths and to any dimensions j Bordered Felts in all 
sizes ; Cocoa Nut and China Mattings ; Stair Damasks, Crumb Cloths, 
and all Articles connected with the Furnishing Department. 

SILK MERCERS, LINEN DRAPERS, 
UNDERTAKERS, <fec, 

Beg to call attention to their Stock of Silks, Shawls, Mantles, Furs, 
&c, &c, which will be found upon inspection to be replete with every 
novelty of the season ; as also to their 

LIKEN & HOUSEHOLD DEPARTMENTS, 

Which are unusually large and well assorted ; comprising 

liHTSIT AlTD CiLuxcO SLJ2>itTIITQS> 

DAMASK TABLE LIXEXS. 
DIAPERS, HUCKABACKS, GLASS CLOTHS, &e. 

EN" ALL WIDTHS; 

lUJUIHIXia AHB SITMMS1 CS^IITS, 

Long Cloths and Calicoes of every description, dc, dc. 

jfuneral department- 

In this Department will be found every thing requisite for the largest 
Funeral, and to which especial attention is paid. 



: ; sljl:ej?:ii s^le^^iit ..:"z^^i__^. 



N.B.— Charities and Clothing Clubs supplied on the 
most liberal terms. 



Advertifements. 373 



JAMES & RIGS, 
saaoollm ©tapers, practical Caflor*, 

PROFESSED TROUSER MAKERS, 

AJs T D LONDON HATTERS, 

61, BSOAD STREET, 

(Opposite the Crown Hotel) WORCESTER. 

J. &R. beg to state that they continue to guarantee a perfect Fit, 
combined with the most approved modern style and their well known 
strictly economical scale of charges. 

A Choice Selection of New Coating, Vesting, and Trouserings, 
Warranted Shrunk, always on hand. 

EUKftAnXT JTniEB tROUSIBS, ALL W©©L, 

14s. 6d., 16s. 6d., 18s. 6d. 
BRILLIANT LONDON MANUFACTURED HATS, 

THE NEWEST STYLE, 10s. 6d. 
THE PAEIS AND LONDON FASHIONS RECEIVED MONTHLY. 

ESTABLISHED UPWARDS OF A CENTURY. 



EDWIN LEONARD, 

WHOLESALE & FAMILY GROCER, 

HOP MEECHAJ^T, &c., 

25, BROAD STREET, ANT> 8, HOP MARKET, 

WORCESTER. 



E. LEONARD HAS ALWAYS A STOCK OF KENT, SUSSEX, FARNHAM, 

AND WORCESTER HOPS, SELECTED FROM THE CHOICEST 

GROWTHS, 



374 



Advertifements. 



Zty Neto 




ftogai 



WEST-MIDLAND 



GENERAL MOURNING 

ESTABLISHMENT, 

No. 64, FOEEGATE STKEET, 

(In connection with Victoria Rouse) Worcester. 



SCOTT & COMPANY, Proprietors. 

This Establishment is set apart exclusively for general and com- 
plete MOURNING and BLACK DRESS— wherein every article 
required by the gradations of a family for deep or complimen- 
tary mourning is supplied from an efficient and fashionable Stock. 

The large proportion of the Public constantly wearing BLACK, 
both from necessity and choice, has induced Messrs. SCOTT and 
COMPANY to open and set apart these Premises for the de- 
velopment of good and appropriate BLACK APPAREL, hither- 
to felt to be a desideratum ; and they trust by careful study 
and observation of its fashionable requirements, at all times to 
be able to offer a constant succession of choice and stylish novelty 
in this new branch of their business, suited to the progress of 
the times. 

This Establishment' being annexed to a large and fashionable 
General Business, superior advantages will naturally accrue 
from the extensive variety of Patterns and Textures in COLOURS 
constantly being received, which cannot be secured by any other 
Establishment having no such association. 



Arrangements are made, and Artistes engaged from first-class 
London establishments, by which 

THE COMPLETE MOURNING ORDER 

For the whole Family can be executed on the Premises under 
one superintendence ; 

Strict Punctuality, Correct Taste, and Superior Finish being duly 
maintained. 

FUNERALS CONDUCTED 

With consistent Economy and correct Appointments, under 
efficient Management. 



Advertifements. 375 



BEREOW'S 

WORCESTER JOURNAL, 

ESTABLISHED 1709, 



A Family Paper, circulating in every Town in the County 
of Worcester, and in the adjacent Counties of Hereford, 
Gloucester, Oxford, Warwick, Stafford, and Salop, is 

PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY EVENING, 

WITH A 

SSwflnb, or gtarkei (Biritiott, an Satarimg pornhtgs. 



The "Journal," Conservative Newspaper, staunchly ad- 
vocates Conservative Progress and Constitutional Liberty, 
is warmly attached to our Institutions in "Church and State, 
and every energy is exerted to render it a 

FAITHFUL LOCAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER, 

And to maintain its position as the first in the County. 



THE LATEST DITELLI&EXCE, WITH THE MARKETS, 

BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. 



To Advertisers, who wish for publicity in Worcestershire 
and adjoining Counties, the Journal offers peculiar ad- 
vantages, on account of its large and increasing circulation 
and the respectability of its connection, rendering it by far 
the best medium for announcements to the Nobility, Clergy, 
and Gentry, as well as to the Agricultural and Commercial 
Classes generally. 

JOURNAL PRINTING OFFICES, 

"3111 (Sl©§§ 9 W@l(SI§f H^o 
H. PAEEY & CO., Pkopeietobs. 



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378 Advertifements. 



w e w. awn, 

COOK AND CONFECTIONER, 

97, High Street, "WORCESTER. 

AND 

ROUT AND BALL SUPPERS 

SUPPLIED. 

REFRESHMENT ROOMS. 

COUNTY FAMILIES WILL MEET WITH EVERY COMFORT AND - 
CONVENIENCE. 



SOUPS, CHOPS, AND STEAKS. 



1ASS 4 CO.'S PALE ALES, 

MANDEES' DUBLIN STOUT. 
WINES. 

SUA ASJ® (SOWWEMo 



ESTABLISHED 1803. 



Advertifements. 379 

NEWSPAPER AND GENERAL PRINTING OFFICE, 

65, BROAD STREET, 

IN THE CENTRE OF THE CITY OF WORCESTER. 



The CHRONICLE is published every Wednesday, at one 
o'clock, and contains all the General and Local News of the 
week up to the very latest period preceding its publication. 
Being the only Newspaper in the county published in the 
middle of the week, enjoying a most influential and extensive 
circulation, particularly in the mining and manufacturing 
districts of East Worcestershire, devoting great attention to 
trading and monetary interests, and strictly excluding all 
objectionable medical or other notifications, it offers a most 
eligible medium for Advertisements. The News Department 
is most efficiently conducted, Agents and Correspondents 
being engaged in all the principal towns of the district. 
Considerable attention is paid to Railway matters, and 
information supplied from original and authentic sources. 

Auctioneers, Solicitors, and all persons concerned in the 
Sale of Property, will do well to forward Particulars and 
Catalogues to the Office of the WORCESTERSHIRE 
CHRONICLE, the situation of which, in the very centre 
of the city, affords peculiar facilities for their being dis- 
tributed advantageously. 

Proprietors, KNIGHT & CO. 



380 Advertifements. 



NURSERY SEEDSMAN & FLORIST, 

26, BROAD STREET, 

AND AT 

LOWER WICK, near WORCESTER, 

ESTABLISHED 1756, 

Where all Orders in the Nursery Seed Business, &c, Wholesale and 
Retail, will be gratefully received and executed with the utmost punctu- 
ality, on the lowest terms. 

DUTCH BULBS IMPORTED ANNUALLY. 

GREENHOUSE PLANTS AND FLOWER ROOTS. 

POTS, PANS, GARDEN MATS, NAILS, &c, &c. 

WH#H4i **!€*, 

No. 21, HIGH STREET, 
CORNER OF PUMP STREET. 



A trial will prove the fact that the BEST and CHEAPEST HOUSE 
for every description of 

<§1M¥[LII1IIM'§ ©'L©TH0KI'@, 

REGIMENTAL AND NAVAL UNIFORMS, 

LADIES' HABITS, &c. 

is 

THOMAS. PRICES, 
21, HIGH STREET, WORCESTER, 



Advertifemen ts. 381 



REMOVAL. 

HADLEY, 

LADIES' ORNAMENTAL"™ MANUFACTURER, 

(For eac7i ofichich he stands pre-eminent) 

In returning thanks to his numerous Patrons, in town and 
country, for past favours, begs to inform them and the Public 
that in consequence of his Premises at the Cross being 
required for the erection of the City and County Banking 
Company's Bank, he has removed to 

No. 48, HIGH STREET, 

Where he respectfully solicits a continuance of past favours. 



Observe— 48, HIGH STREET, opposite Mountford's, the Con- 
fectioner, also nearly facing his Old Residence. 



R. H. is the only Hair Dresser within 100 miles of Worcester 
who exhibited Ladies' Ornamental Hair in the Great Exhibi- 
tion of 1851, for which he holds a Medal and Certificate. 



R. Hadley's system of doing business and the quality of his 
Goods generally are too well known to require comment, 
which includes 

EVERY REQUISITE FOR THE TOILET, 

In Soaps, Combs, and Brushes of every description, and 
Sponges in great variety. 

Mohair and Chenille Caps, Nets, with Rolls, Frizettes, &c., are 
too numerous to mention. 

Allowed to be the best in the trade. 



382 Advertifemen ts . 



ESTABLISHED 1807. 



GEORGE JOSELAXD & SOX, 

IMPORTERS OF 

WINES AND SPIRITS, 

7, Foregate Street, and. 1, Friar Street, 
WORCESTER. 

Wholesale Dealers in and Bottlers of 

BRITISH WINES, 
LONDON AXD DUBLIN PORTER, 

Bass and Co.'s and Allsopp & Son's 

EAST INDIA PALE AND BTJKTON ALES, 

CIDER AND PERRY. 



Agents for 

D'&SGY & SON'S EXTR& STOUT, 

Anchor Brewery, Dublin ; and also for 

KINAHAN'S LL WHISKEY. 



STORES — No. 7, Foregate Street (3 doors from the Railway 
Station); 1, Friar Street; 10, Sansome Street; and under 
Police Station, Nicholas Street. 



An extensive assortment of WINES and SPIRITS, Bonded in 
London, Liverpool, Bristol, and Gloucester. 

N.B. — French, German, Hungarian, and other Wine?, at 

NEW TARIFF PRICES. 



Advertifements. 383 



WATCH & CLOCK MANUFACTORY. 

ESTABLISHED 1790. 

2, BROAD STREET, WORCESTER. 

J» • JXE » o *& J& M Mi A «£ 2; • 




£2 


2 





3 


3 





4 








5 


5 





6 


6 






SILVER WATCHES. 

A plain, good Watch, horizontal escapement, and 
jewelled in four holes .... 

Ditto, extra finished ...... 

A strong Lever, with enamelled dial, and jewelled 

Ditto, extra finished ...... 

Ditto, extra jewelled ..... 

A first-class three-quarter plate Lever, with hands 
to move from behind, and made very flat for 

pocket .880 

GOLD WATCHES. 

Small Gold Horizontal, with fancy back 

Ditto, extra finished, Gentleman's and Lady's size 

Ditto, ditto, ditto, jewelled in six holes 

An elegant Lever, with engraved back 

Ditto, ditto, extra jewelled .... 

Ditto, ditto, three-quarter plate, made very flat 
for pocket, with all the improvements . 

Ditto, ditto, ditto, in hunting cases 

Every Watch sold at this establishment is warranted ; 
and if the most correct performance cannot be obtained, will 
be exchanged within twelve months, without any deduction 
from the price. 

W^atches carefully repaired by the most experienced 
workmen, under the personal inspection of the Principal, 

J. M. SXARRATT, 2, BROAD STREET, WORCESTER, 



5 10 





6 6 





7 7 





11 11 





12 12 





16 16 





18 18 






384 Advertifements. 



BEST SHEFFIELD CUTLERY, 

PLATED AND METAL WARES, 

l£E<S-iI33r]SjHv AMD OTMEIS GI&ATBS, 

Brometi anU Berlin Blacfe jfeniJers, 

WITH 

FIRE I R I\ T S , 

EN SUITE. 



WROUGHT IRON BEDSTEADS & COTS. 



BATHS OF ALL KINDS, 

FOR SALE OR HIRE. 



THE 

In every variety, and of warranted quality, with 
EXTRA GLOBES, CHXM]tfEYS, AND WICKS 

FOR ALL KINDS QF LAMPS, 

PAPER SHADES, CHIMx\EYS, & GLOBE CLEANERS, 

CHIMNEY CAPS, SMOKE CONSUMERS, LAMP SCISSORS, 

Was Tapers and Matches. 



Tlit finest quality of Belgian and French Colza Oils, Genuine Sperm 

Oil, English's Patent Camphine, Garden Tools of every 

desonption, &c, at 

FREDERICK H. L I N G H A M'S, 

89, HIGH STREET, 

W'DlCIifllo 






Advertifements. 385 



ESTABLISHED 1824. 



CHEESE, BUTTER, AND.BAICON 

FACTOR, 

47, HIGH STREET, WORCESTER. 

Home-cured Hams and Tongues, Split and White Boiling 
Peas, Groats, Scotch and Fine Oatmeal, &c. 

By Appointment to 8^^&^^ Herniate Majesty 
QUEEN ,|^||jK^ ADELAIDE. 

RICHARD WEST, 

GROCER AND TEA DEALER, 

NEAR THE OLD BANK, 

WOKCESTEE, 

J. N. DEANE, 

PIANOFORTE TUNER 

AND SELECTER, 

AT STRATFORD'S MUSIC WAREHOUSE, 

THE CROSS, WORCESTER, 

B B 



386 Advertijemen ts . 



WORCESTERSHIRE ARCHERY 

AND 

CHELTENHAM ROYAL ASSEMBLY ROOMS 

QUADRILLE BAITD* 



COMMUNICATIONS BY POST PROMPTLY ATTENDED TO. 



Address— 34, Broad Street, Worcester ; 

OK. 

Royal Assembly Rooms, Cheltenham. 



AND 

LOOKING GLASSES. 



2, f 8 JQHXS-Q'i 



3 
CAEVEB, GILDER, 

AND 

17, MEALCHEAPEH STREET, 

(Opposite the Rein Deer, and near to the Music Hall 
"WORCESTER 



:ts, :$~ 



WORCESTER. 

A REALLY GOOD AETICLE IS EYERY DESCRIPTION OF 

GENTLEMEN'S CLOTHING 

MAY 2 1 OBTAINED AT 

lBRIS & WOODHEAI 
GENERAL OUTFITTERS 

AND TAILORS. 



Executed in the Best Style. 

13, THE FOREGATE. 
FUNERALS COMPLETELY FURNISHED 

WITH ETEEY REGARD TO ECONOMY. 

TYLER'S NUTRITIVE VEGETABLE CREAM. 

promoting the growth of the Hair when 
weakly or falling oft. 

Of all the various Pomades recommended for the purposes of pre- 
venting the Hair from falling off, arresting the progress of its decay, 
and promoting its growth, none has been found generally so sac 
as this preparation: it is therefore reco mm ended ^ith confidence, from 
a conviction that it needs only a trial to be approved. — /« 
1,?. d- '2s. each. 

Tyler's Vegetable Antiseptic Dentifrice. 

To those who value a good set of Teeth, this Powder will pre 
most desirable acquisition. It will entirely remove any tartar which 
may accumulate, rendering the Teeth beautifully white, and tends, by 
its astringent and antiseptic properties, to promote a healthy s . 
the gums, the preservation of which is of such material consequence 
to the teeth themse>T ; . If used regularly, it will be found t: pre- 
serve them for years, and prevent entirely that torturing mala 3 
tooth-ache. — In boxes- 1 s 

Thi :'::.. ;":""._ : ^ :.: crre prepared and sold only by 

H. W, TYLER, PHARMACEUTICAL CHEMIST. 

a, TYTHIXG. WORCESTER. 



3 8 S Adu ertij em en is . 

A. COGHLAN, 

IA7Z HAMBLER 

COOK AND CONFECTIONER 



To Her late Majesty JSS^S&WyiL H. R. H. the Duchess 
the Queen Dowager. H^y^^^PQp^T °' Kent, and 

H. R. H. the Duke of Cambridge, 

No. 67, HIGH STREET, 

WORCESTER. 



ROUTS & BALL SUPPERS FURNISHED. 

Soups. Jellies, lees. Creams. &c, Arc. 

RICH BRIBE CAKES. 

|3otUu an& Stctiuu Xamgrcgs a.nb 3Campmts. 



MSN COOKS SENT TO ALL PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. 



Completely furnished, in the first style, on moderate charges. 
LUNCHEON, TEA, COFFEE, AND CHOCOLATE. 

PLATE, GLASS, ETC., LENT ON HIRE. 

ALLSOPP'S BITTER SEER. 



A. C. having obtained a Refreshment License, can now supply 

WINES to panics taking Luncheon or Dinner. 



Advertifements. 389 



CANNOCK CHASE 

HEAD OFFICES, 

1, FOREGATE STREET, 

WORCESTER. 

Cannock Chase, Welsh, Staffordshire, Brooch, 
Leicestershire, and Derbyshire Coals always on hand, 
at their different Depots on the Oxford, "Worcester, and 
Wolverhampton and Malvern Baihvays. 



R. WOOD, Manager. 



A SPEEDY, SAFE, & CERTAIN 

CTffl *oa <M1S t NIHIL 

From the Worcester Herald, May 28, 1859. 

"We can speak feelingly and gratefully on the subject of 
the 'Corn Solvent,' which has saved us from excruciating 
suffering, to say nothing of such minor points in its favour as 
being very easily applied, perfectly safe as a chemical, and 
rather pleasant than otherwise to eye and nose ! " 

Sold in Bottles at Is. \\d. and 2s. each. 

PREPARED ONLY BY 

ANDERSON AND YIKGO, 

FAMILY & DISPENSING CHEMISTS, 

THE FOREGATE, WORCESTER. 



390 Advert ijements. 



PATRONISED BY THE NOBILITY, CLERGY, AND 
GENTRY OF THE CITY AND COUNTY. 



W. H. BARBER, 

^Froin London 1 , Established 1836, 

SILK, COTTON, AND WOOLLEN 

Bill, 

CALENDERED AND HOTPRESSER, 

7, FRIAR STREET, 

WORCESTER. 



W. H. begs most respectfully to inform the Gentry 
and Inhabitants of Worcester and its vicinity that he has 
Removed to the above extensive premises, where he hopes 
by strict attention and punctuality, combined with moderate 
charges, to merit a further share of public support. 

All kinds of Furniture Cleaned, Dyed, Glazed, Watered, 
or Embossed. Silk, Satin, Velvet, Merino, and all other kinds 
of 'Dresses, Cleaned or Dyed equal to new. Foreign and 
English Shawl, Mantle, and Dress Cleaner. 

Table Covers, Carpets, Hearth Rugs, and Blankets 
Cleaned. Blond, Feathers, and Gloves Cleaned or Dyed, 
Gentlemen's Clothes and Hunting Coats Cleaned or Dved. 



ORDERS received at WORCESTER by Miss Wilson, 
44, Tything j EVESHAM, by G. Ballinger, Boot and Shoe 
Maker, Bridge Street; MALVERN, by W. Towndrow, 
Draper, &c, the Link; GREAT MALVERN, by Miss E. 
Davies, An^lesea House. 



Advert if emen is . 391 



HANNAH BANKS, 
74. HIGH STREET, WORCESTER, 

POULTERER, 

LICENSED TO DEAL IN GAME, 

PICKLED TONGUES, 

MXL SOTDS. 

BRITISH A2TD FOREIGN FETTTEEEE. 

J. BUTCHER, 
TAILOR. TROUSERS MAKER, 

w : a b 1 z 1 _ j 1 7. , 

15, N 1CHOLAS STREET, 
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LESj Jim., is enabled to print Books, Pamphlets, 

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A CATALOGUE 

OF 

NEW WORKS IN GENERAL LITERATURE 

PUBLISHED BY 

LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, AND ROBERTS 

39 Paternoster Row, London. 



CLASSIFIED INDEX 



Agriculture and Rural Affairs. 

Bayldon on Valuing Bents, &c. . . 6 

'" on Road Legislation . . 6 

Caird's Prairie Fanning ... 8 

Cecil's Stud Farm 8 

Hoskyns's Talpa 11 

Loudon's Agriculture .... 14 

Low's Elements of Agriculture . . 14 
Morton on Landed estates . . .17 

Arts, Manufactures, and ArcM- j 
tecture. 



Brande's Dictionary of Science, &c. 

11 Organic Chemistry . 

Cresy's Civil Engineering 
Fairbairn's Information for Engineers 
Guilt's Encyclopaedia of Architecture 
Harford's Plates from If. Angelo . 
Humphreys's Parables Illuminated 
Jameson's" Sacred and Legendary Art 

" Commonplace-^Book 
Konig's Pictorial Life of Luther . 
Loudon's Rural Architecture . 
Mac Dougall's Campaigns of Hannibal 

" Theory of War 

Moseley's Engineering . 
Piesse's Art of Perfumery 
Richardson's Art of Horsemanship 
Scotfern on Projectiles, &c. . 
Steam Engine, by the Artisan Club 
Cre's Dictionary of Arts, &c. . 



Biography. 



Arago's Lives of Scientific Men 
Baillie's Memoir of Bate 
Brialmont's "Wellington . 
Bunsen's Hippolytus 
Bunting'3 [Dr.) Life 
Crosse's (Andrew) Memorials 
Gleig's Essays .... 
Green's Princesses of England 
Harford's Life of Michaef Angelo 
Lardner's Cabinet Cvclopaedia. 
Marshman's Life of Carey, Marshman 

and Ward . . 
Maunder's Biographical Treasury 



Morris's Life of Becket . 
Mountain's (Col.) Memoirs . 
Parry's (Admiral Memoirs 
Russell's Memoirs of Moore . 

** (Dr.) Life of Mezzoianti 

SchimmelPenninck's 'Mrs.) Life 
Souther's Life of Wesley 
Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 
Strickland's Queens of England 
Sydney Smith's Memoirs 
Symonds's (Admiral) Memoirs 
Taylor's Loyola 

" Wesley . . . 

Uwins's Memoirs and Correspondence 
Waterton's Autobiography and Essays 

Books of General Utility. 



u 

10 
12 

13 

13 ! 
10 

K I 

IS 

15 
17 I 
W 
IS 



10 
10 
10 
13 



Acton's Eread-Eook 


. 5 


" Cookery-Book 





Black's Treatise on Brewing . 


. 6 


Cabinet Gazetteer .... 


. 8 


" Lawyer .... 


7 


Cust's Invalid's Own Eook 


9 


Hints on Etiquette .... 


. li 


Hudson's Executor's Guide . 


. 12 


M on Making Wills 


12 


Kesteven's Domestic Medicine 


13 


Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopedia 


13 


Loudon's Lady's Country Companion 


U 


Maunder's Treasurv of Knowledge 


. 16 


" Biographical Treasury 


16 


" Geographical Treasurv 


. 1G 


" Scientific Treasurv 


15 


** Treasury of History 


16 


u Natural History . 


16 


Piesse's Art of Perfumerv 


18 


Pitt's How to Brew Good Beer 


Ifl 


Pocket and the Stud 


11 


Pvcroft's English Reading 


19 


Rich's Companion to Latin Dictionarv 


19 


Richardson's Art of Horsemanship 


1U 


Riddle's Latin Dictionaries . 


19 


Roget's English Thesaurus . 


20 


Rowton's Debater .... 


20 


Short Whist 


21 


Simpson's Handbook of Dining . 


21 


Thomson's Interest Tables- . 


22 


Webster's Domestic Economy 


24 


Wilhch's Popular Tables 


24 


"Vr llmot'e Blackstone . 


24 



CLASSIFIED INDEX TO CATALOGUE. 



Botany and Gardening. 

Hassall's British Freshwater Algae 
Hooker's British Flora . 

" Guide to Kew Gardens . 
Lindley's Introduction to Botany . 

" Synopsis of the British Flora 

" Theorv of Horticulture . 
Loudon's Hortu's Britannicus 

" Amateur Gardener . 

" Trees and Shrubs . 

" Gardening 

" Plants .... 

Pereira's Materia Medica 
Rivera's Rose Amateur's Guide . 
"Watson's C\bele Britannica 
Wilson's British Mosses . 



SchimmelPenninck'sPiinciples of Beauty 20 



Chronology. 



11 I 

11 

ii 

14 
14 
14 

14 
14 
14 
14 
14 
I/B 
19 
24 
24 



Brewer's Historical Atlas 
Bunsen's Ancient Egypt • . 
Haydn's Beatson's Index 
Jaquemet's Two Chronologies 

Commerce and Mercantile 
Affairs. 

Gilbart's Lo?ic of Banking 

" Treatise on Banking 
Lorimer's Young Master Mariner . 
M'Culloch's Commerce and Navigation 
Thomson's Interest Tables . 
Tooke's History of Prices 



Criticism, History, and Memoirs. 

Brewer's Historical Atlas 
Bunsen's Ancient Egypt 
" Hippolytus 
• Chapman's Gustavus Adolphus 
Connolly's Sappers and Miners 
Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul 
Crowe's History of France 
Fischer's Francis Bacon . 
Frazer's Letters during the Peninsular 

and "Waterloo Campaigns . . .10 

Gleig's Essays 10 

Gurney's Historical Sketches . . 10 

Hayward's Essays 11 

Herschel's Essays and Addresses . . 11 

Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions . . 13 

Kemble's Anglo-Saxons . . . .13 

Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia . . 13 

Macaulay's Critical and Hist. Essays . 14 

" ' History of England .' . 14 

" Speeches . . . .14 

Mackintosh's Miscellaneous Works . 15 

" History of England . . 15 

M'Culloeh's Geographical Dictionary 

Maunder's Treasury of History . " . 16 

Merivale's History "of Rome . . .16 

" Roman Republic . . .16 

Milner's Church History ... c 16 

Moore's (Thomas) Memoirs, &c. . . 17 

Mures Greek Literature . . .17 

Normanby's Year of Revolution . . 18 

Perry's Franks 

Porter's Knights of Malta . . .19 

Raikes's Journal . . . . , .19 

Riddle's Latin Dictionaries . . .19 

Rogers's Essays from Edinb. Review . 19 

" (Sara.) Recollections . ..19 

Roget's English Thesaurus . . . 20 
SchimmelPenninck's Memoirs of Port 

Royal 20 



Schmitz's History of Greece . 


. 20 


Southev's Doctor 


. 21 


Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 


. 22 


" Lectures on French History . 21 


Svdnev Smith's Work* . 


. 21 


" Lectures 


. 21 


" Memoirs 


. 21 


Tavlor's Lovola 


. 22 


" "Weslev 


22 


Thirl wall's His'tory of Greece . 


. 22 


Turner's Anglo-Saxons . 


. 23 


Uwins"s Memoirs and Letters 


. 23 


Yehse's Austrian Court . 


. 23 


Wade's England's Greatness . 


. 23 


Young's Christ of History 


. 24 



Geography and Atlases. 

Brewer's Historical Atlas 
Butler's Geography and Atlases . 
Cabinet Gazetteer . 
Johnston's General Gazetteer 
M'Cuiloch's Geographical Dictionary 
Maunder's Treasury of Geography 
Murray's Encyclopaedia of Geography 
Sharp's British Gazetteer 



Juvenile Books. 

Amy Herbert . 
CleveHall .... 

Earl's Daughter (The) . 
Experience of Life . 

Gertrude 

Howitt's Boy's Country Book 
u (Mary) Children's Year 

Ivors 

Katharine Ashton . 
Laneton Parsonage . 
Margaret Percival . 
Piesse's Chymical, Natural, and 

sical Magic .... 
Pycroft's Collegian's Guide . 



8 
13 
15 
16 
17 



20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

12 

12 

20 , 

20 

20 ; 

20 



Medicine, Surgery, &c. 

Brodie's Psychological Inquiries 
Bull's Hint's to Mothers . 

" Management of Children 

" Work on Blindness 
Copland's Dictionary of Medicine 
Cust's Invalid's Own Book 
Holland's Mental Physiology . 

" Medical No'tes and Reflections 
Kesteven's Domestic Medicine 
Pereira's Materia Medica 
Richardson's Cold-water Cure 
Spencer's Principles of Psychology 
Todd's Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and 

Physiology 

Miscellaneous Literature. 

Bacon's (Lord) "Works .... 

Defence of Eclipse of Faith . 

De Fonblanque on Army Administration 

Eclipse of Faith 

Greathed's Letters from Delhi 
Greyson's Select Correspondence . 
Gurney's Evening Recreations 
Hassall's Adulterations Detected, &c. . 
Haydn's Book of Dignities 
Holland's Mental Physiology 



CLASSIFIED INDEX 


TO CATALOGUE. 


3 


Hooker's Kew Guide .... 


11 


Calvert's Wife's Manual . 


8 


Howitt's Rural Life of England 


12 


Catz and Far lie's Moral Emblems 


8 


(i Visits to Remarkable Places 


12 


Cleve Hall 


20 


Jameson's Commonplace-Book 


13 


Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul 


8 


Jeffrey's (Lord) Essays .... 


13 


Cotton's Instructions in Christianity . 


8 


Last of the Old Squires .... 


18 


Dale's Domestic Liturgy- 


9 


Letters of a Betrothed 


13 


Defence of Eclipse of Faith 


9 


Macaulay's Critical and Hist Essays 


14 


Earl's Daughter (The) . 


20 


" Speeches 


14 


Eclipse of Faith 


9 


Mackintosh's Miscellaneous Works 


15 


Englishman's Greek Concordance 


9 


Martineau's Miscellanies 


15 


Heb. & Chald. Concord. 


9 


Pycroft's English Reading 


19 


Experience (The) of Life 


20 


Rich's Companion to Latin Dictionary 


19 


Gertrude 


20 


Riddle's Latin Dictionaries . 


19 


Harrison's Light of the Forge 


10 


Row-ton's Debater 


20 


Home's Introduction to Scriptures 


11 


Sii Roger De Coverley . 


21 


" Abridgment of ditto ■ 


11 


Smith's (Rev. Sydney) "Works 


21 


Hue's Christianity in China . 


12 


Southey's Doctor, &c 


21 


Humphreys's Parables Illuminated 


12 


Spencer's Essays .... 


21 


Ivors, by the Author of Amy Herbert . 


20 


Stephen's Essays .... 


22 


Jameson's Saints and Martyrs 


13 


Stow's Training System . 


22 


" Monastic Legends 


13 


Thomson's Laws of Thought 


22 


" Legends of the Madonna 


13 


Trevelyan on the Native Languages of 




" on Female Employment . 


12 


India 


22 


Jeremy Taylor's Works . . . . 


13 


Yonge's English-Greek Lexicon . 


24 


Katharine Ashton 


20 


" Latin Gradus 


24 


Konig's Pictorial Life of Luther 


10 


Zumpt's Latin Grammar 


. 24 


Laneton Parsonage 


20 






Letters to my Unknown Friends . 


13 


Natural History in general. 




Lyra Germanica 

Maguire's Rome 


7 
15 


Agassiz on Classification 


. 5 


Margaret Percival 

Marshman's Serampore Mission . 


20 
15 


Catlow's Popular Conchology 


. 8 


Martineau's Christian Life 


15 


Ephemera's Book of the i^alraon . 


9 


" Hymns . 
" Studies of Christianity . 
Merivale's Christian Records 


15 


Garratt's Marvels or Instinct . 


. 10 


15 


Gosse's Natural History ot Jamaica 


. 10 


16 


Kirby and Spence's Entomology . 


. 13 


Milner's Church of Christ 


16 


Lee's Elements of Natural History 


. 13 


Moore on the Use of the Body 
«' " Soul and Body 
" 's Man and his Motives 


17 


Maunder's Natural History . 


. 16 


16 


Morris's Anecdotes in Natural Histor 1 


1 17 


17 


Quatrefages' Rambles of a Naturalist 


. 19 


Morning Clouds 


17 


Stonehenge on the Dog . 


. 22 


Neale's Closing Scene . . . . 


17 


Turton's Shells of the British Islands 


. 23 


Pattison's Earth and Word . 


18 


Tan der Hoeven's Handbook of Zoolog 


V 23 


Powell's Christianity without Judaism 


19 


Waterton's Essays on Natural History 


. 24 


„ Order of Nature 


19 


Youatt's The Dog 


. 24 


Readings for Lent 


20 


" The Horse 


. 24 


u Confirmation 
Robinson's Lexicon to the Greek Tes- 


20 


One- Volume Encyclopaedias 


and 


tament . 

Self-Exammation for Confirmation 


19 
20 


Dictionaries. 




Sewell's History of the Early Church . 


20 






Sinclair's Journey of Life 


21 


Blaine's Rural. Sports 


. 6 


Smith's (Sydney) Moral Philosophy 


21 


Brande's Science, Literature, and Art 


. 6 


" (G.) "Wesleyan Methodism 


21 


Copland's Dictionary of Medicine 


. 8 


** (J.) Shipwreck of St. Paul 


21 


Cresy's Civil Engineering 


. 8 


Southey's Life of Wesley 


21 


Gwilt's Architecture 


. 10 


Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 


22 


Johnston's Geographical Dictionary 


. 13 


Taylor's Loyola 


22 


Loudon's Agriculture 


. 14 


" Wesley 


22 


" Rural Architecture 


. 14 


Theologia Germanica . 


7 


" Gardening 


. 14 


Thumb Bible (The) 
Young's Christ of History 
" Mystery . , 


22 


" Plants .... 
" Trees and Shrubs . 


. 14 
. 14 


24 
24 


M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary 


. 15 


- 




" Dictionary of Commerce 


. 15 






Murray's Encyclopaedia oi Geography 
Sharp's British Gazetteer 
Ure's Dictionary of Arts, &c. . 


. 17 






. 21 
. 23 


Poetry and the Drama. 




"Webster's Domestic Economy 


. 24 


Aikin's (Dr.") British Poets . 


5 






Arnold's Merope .... 


5 


Eeligious and Moral Works. 




" Poems .... 
Baillie's (Joanna) Poetical Works . 


5 
5 


Afternoon of Life .... 


. 5 


Calvert's Wife's Manual . 


8 


Amy Herbert 


. 20 


Goldsmith's Poems, illustrated 


10 


Bloomfield's Greek Testament 


. 6 


L. E. L.'s Poetical Works 


14 


Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress 


• ' 


Linwood's Anthologia Oxoniensis 


14 



4 CLASSIFIED I 


NDEX TO CATALOGUE. 




Lyra Germanica .... 


T 


Stable Talk and Table Talk . 


10 


Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome 
MacDonald's Within and AVithout 


. 15 


Stonehenge on the Dog 


22 


. 15 


" " Greyhound 


22 


" Poems . . . 


. 15 


The Stud, for Practical Purposes . 


11 


Montgomery's Poetical Works 


. 16 




Moore's Poetical Works . 


17 






" Selections (illustrated ) 
" Lalla Rookh 


. 17 

. 17 


Veterinary Medicine, &c. 




' " Irish Melodies . 


17 






u National Melodies 


. 17 


Cecil's Stable Practice . 


8 


" Sacred Songs {with Music) 


. 17 


" Stud Farm .... 


8 


" Songs and Ballads . 


17 


Hunt's Horse and his Master 


12 


Shakspeare, by Bowdler . 


20 


Hunting-Field (The) 


11 


Southey's Poetical Works 


. 21 


Miles's Horse-Shoeing . 


16 


Thomson's Seasons, illustrated 


. 22 


" on the Horse's Foot 


16 






Pocket and the Stud 


11 






Practical Horsemanship . 


11 


1 The Sciences in general a ad 


Richardson's Horsemanship 
Stable Talk and Table Talk . 


19 
10 


Mathematics. 




Stonehenge on the Dog . 

Stud (The) 


22 

11 






Youatt's The Dog .... 


21 


Arago's Meteorological Essays 


. 5 


" The Horse . . 


24 


" Popular Astronomy . 


5 






Bourne on the Steam Engine 


. 6 






" 's Catechism of Steam-Engine 
Boyd's Naval Cadet's Manual 


6 
6 


Voyages and Travels. 




Brande's Dictionary of Science, &c. 


6 






" Lectures on Organic Chemistr, 


r 6 


Baker's Wanderings in Ceylon 


. 5 


Conington's Chemical Analysis . 


8 


Barth's African Travels . 


5 


Cresy's Civil Engineering 


. 8 


Burton's East Africa 


7 


De la Rive's Electricity . 


9 


" Medina and Mecca . 


7 


Grove's Correlation of Physical Forces 


10 


Domenech's Deserts of North America 


9 


HerschePs Outlines of Astronomy . 


. 11 


" Texas and Mexico 


9 


"Holland's Mental Physiology ; 


11 


First Impressions of the New World 


9 


Humboldt's Aspects of Nature 


. 12 


Forester's Sardinia and Corsica 


10 


" Cosmos 


. 12 


Hinchliff *s Travels in the Alps 


11 


Hunt on Light 


. 12 


Howitt's Art-Student in Munich . 


12 


Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia 


13 


" (W.) Victoria . 


12 


Marcet's (Mrs.) Conversations 


15 


Hue's Chinese Empire . 


12 


Morell's Elements of Psychology . 


17 


Hudson and Kennedy's Mont Blanc 


12 


Moseley's Engineering and Architecture 


! 17 


Humboldt's Aspects "of Nature 


12 


Ogilvie's Master-Builder's Plan 


18 


Hutchinson's Western Africa 


12 


Owen's Lectures on Comp. Anatomy 


18 


Kane's Wanderings of an Artist . 


13 


Pereira on Polarised Light 


18 


Lady's Tour round Monte Rosa 


13 


Peschel's Elements of physics 


. 18 


M'Clure's North-West Passage 


18 


Phillips's Mineralogy 


. 18 


Mac Dougall's Voyage of the Resohite 


15 


" Guide to Geology . 


. 18 


Minturn's New York to Delhi 


16 


Powell's L'nity of Worlds * 


. 19 


Mollhausen's Journey to the Pacific 


16 


" Christianity without Judaism 


i 19 


Osborn's Quedah .... 


18 


" Order of Nature 


. 19 


Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers . 


18 


Smee's Electro-Metallurgy 


. 21 


Scherzer's Central America 


20 


Steam-Engine, by the Artisan Club 


6 


Senior's Journal in Turkey and Greece 


20 


Webb's Celestial Objects for Commor 


L 


Snow's Tierra del FUego . 


21 


Telescopes 


. 24 


Tennent's Ceylon .... 


22 






Von Tempskv's Mexico and Guatemala 


23 






Wanderings fn the Land of Ham . 


21 


Kural Sports. 




Weld's Vacations in Ireland . 
" Pyrenees, West and East . 


1 24 

24 






" United States and Canada . 


24 


Baker's Rifle and Hound in Ceylon 


. 5 






Blaine's Dictionary of Sports . 


. 6 






Cecil's Stable Practice . 

" Stud Farm .... 


8 
8 


Works of Fiction. 




Davy's Fishing Excursions, 2 Series 


. 9 






Ephemera on Angling . 


9 


Connolly's Romance of the Ranks 


8 


" Book of the Salmon 


9 


Cruikshank's Falstaff 


9 


Freeman and Salvin's Falconry 


10 


Howitt's Tallangetta 


12 


Hawker's Young Sportsman . 


11 


Mildred Norman .... 


16 


The Hunting-Field .... 


11 


Moore's Epicurean 


17 


Idle's Hints on Shooting 


. 12 


Sewell's Ursula .... 


20 


Pocket and the Stud 


11 


Sir Roger De Coverley . 


21 


Practical Horsemanship . 


11 


Sketches (The), Three Tales . 


21 


Pycroft's Cricket-Field . 


19 


Southey's Doctor, &c 


21 


Richardson's Horsemanship . 


19 1 


Trollope's Barchester Towers . 


23 


Ronalds's Fly-Fish#r's Entomology 


20 1 


" Warden . . . 


23 



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